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• wave
  wave

  noun

  a disturbance on the surface of a liquid body, as the sea or a lake, in the form of a moving ridge or swell.
• Wave
  Wave

  noun

  a member of the Waves.

wave

¹ American  

[wayv] / weɪv /

noun

• waves
  plural

1. a disturbance on the surface of a liquid body, as the sea or a lake, in the form of a moving ridge or swell.

   Synonyms:

   whitecap, undulation

2. any surging or progressing movement or part resembling a wave of the sea.

   a wave of the pulse.

3. a swell, surge, or rush, as of feeling or of a certain condition.

   a wave of disgust sweeping over a person; a wave of cholera throughout the country.

4. a widespread feeling, opinion, tendency, etc..

   a wave of anti-intellectualism; the new wave of installment buying.

5. a mass movement, as of troops, settlers, or migrating birds.

6. an outward curve, or one of a series of such curves, in a surface or line; undulation.

7. an act or instance of waving.

8. a fluttering sign or signal made with the hand, a flag, etc..

   a farewell wave.

9. natural waviness of the hair, or a special treatment to impart waviness.

   to have a wave in one's hair; to get a shampoo and a wave.

10. a period or spell of unusually hot or cold weather.

11. Physics. a progressive disturbance propagated from point to point in a medium or space without progress or advance by the points themselves, as in the transmission of sound or light.

12. Literary.

    1. water.

    2. a body of water.

    3. the sea.

13. (at sports events, especially baseball games) a momentary standing and sitting back down by spectators in a sequential, lateral way to create, en masse, a wavelike effect visually.

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verb (used without object)

• waves,
  present (3rd person singular)
• waved,
  past participle,  past
• waving
  present participle

1. to move freely and gently back and forth or up and down, as by the action of air currents, sea swells, etc..

   The flags were waving in the wind.

   Synonyms:

   fluctuate, rock, sway, float, flutter, undulate

2. to curve alternately in opposite directions; have an undulating form.

   The road waved along the valley.

3. to bend or sway up and down or to and fro, as branches or plants in the wind.

4. to be moved, especially alternately in opposite directions.

   The woman's handkerchief waved in encouragement.

5. to give a signal by fluttering or flapping something.

   She waved to me with her hand.

verb (used with object)

• waves,
  present (3rd person singular)
• waved,
  past participle,  past
• waving
  present participle

1. to cause to flutter or have a waving motion in.

   A night wind waves the tattered banners.

2. to cause to bend or sway up and down or to and fro.

   The storm waved the heavy branches of the elm.

3. to give an undulating form to; cause to curve up and down or in and out.

4. to give a wavy appearance or pattern to, as silk.

5. to impart a wave to (the hair).

6. to move, especially alternately in opposite directions.

   to wave the hand.

7. to signal to by waving a flag or the like; direct by a waving movement.

   to wave a train to a halt; to wave traffic around an obstacle.

8. to signify or express by a waving movement.

   to wave a last goodbye.

idioms

1. make waves, to disturb the status quo; cause trouble, as by questioning or resisting the accepted rules, procedures, etc..

   The best way to stay out of trouble at the office is not to make waves.

Wave ² American  

[wayv] / weɪv /

Or WAVE

noun

1. a member of the Waves.

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wave British  

/ weɪv /

verb

1. to move or cause to move freely to and fro

   the banner waved in the wind

2. (intr) to move the hand to and fro as a greeting

3. to signal or signify by or as if by waving something

4. (tr) to direct to move by or as if by waving something

   he waved me on

5. to form or be formed into curves, undulations, etc

6. (tr) to give a wavy or watered appearance to (silk, etc)

7. (tr) to set waves in (the hair)

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noun

1. one of a sequence of ridges or undulations that moves across the surface of a body of a liquid, esp the sea: created by the wind or a moving object and gravity

2. any undulation on or at the edge of a surface reminiscent of such a wave

   a wave across the field of corn

3. the sea

4. anything that suggests the movement of a wave, as by a sudden rise

   a crime wave

5. a widespread movement that advances in a body

   a wave of settlers swept into the country

6. the act or an instance of waving

7. physics an oscillation propagated through a medium or space such that energy is periodically interchanged between two kinds of disturbance. For example, an oscillating electric field generates a magnetic oscillation and vice versa, hence an electromagnetic wave is produced. Similarly a wave on a liquid comprises vertical and horizontal displacements See also antinode longitudinal wave node standing wave transverse wave

8. physics a graphical representation of a wave obtained by plotting the magnitude of the disturbance against time at a particular point in the medium or space; waveform

9. a prolonged spell of some weather condition

   a heat wave

10. an undulating curve or series of curves or loose curls in the hair

11. an undulating pattern or finish on a fabric

12. short for wave moth

13. to cause trouble; disturb the status quo

14. slang to enjoy a period of success and good fortune

wave Scientific  

/ wāv /

1. A disturbance, oscillation, or vibration, either of a medium and moving through that medium (such as water and sound waves), or of some quantity with different values at different points in space, moving through space (such as electromagnetic waves or a quantum mechanical wave described by the wave function).

2. See also longitudinal wave transverse wave wave function See Note at refraction

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wave Cultural  

1. In physics, any regularly recurring event, such as surf coming in toward a beach, that can be thought of as a disturbance moving through a medium. Waves are characterized by wavelength, frequency, and the speed at which they move. Waves are found in many forms.

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wave More Idioms  

1. see make waves.

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Synonym Usage

Wave, ripple, breaker, surf refer to a ridge or swell on the surface of water. Wave is the general word: waves in a high wind. A ripple is the smallest kind of wave, such as is caused by a stone thrown into a pool: ripples in a brook. A breaker is a wave breaking, or about to break, upon the shore or upon rocks: the roar of breakers. Surf is the collective name for breakers: Heavy surf makes bathing dangerous.

Discover More

The motion of a wave and the motion of the medium on which the wave moves are not the same: ocean waves, for example, move toward the beach, but the water itself merely moves up and down. Sound waves are spread by alternating compression and expansion of air.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underwave
  noun
• underwaving
  noun
• outwave
  verb (used with object)
• unwaving
  adjective
• waveless
  adjective
• wavelike
  adjective
• wavelessly
  adverb
• wavingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• waves
  plural

Participles

• waving
  present
• waved
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• wave
  simple
• waves
  simple
• have waved
  perfect
• has waved
  perfect
• am waving
  progressive
• are waving
  progressive
• is waving
  progressive
• have been waving
  perfect progressive
• has been waving
  perfect progressive

Past

• waved
  simple
• had waved
  perfect
• was waving
  progressive
• were waving
  progressive
• had been waving
  perfect progressive

Future

• will wave
  simple
• will have waved
  perfect
• will be waving
  progressive
• will have been waving
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of wave¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English waven (verb), Old English wafian “to wave the hands”; cognate with Middle High German waben; cf. waver ¹

Origin of Wave²

First recorded in 1942; see origin at Waves

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Explanation

The word wave has many different meanings, but they all have to do with an undulating motion or shape. A wave that washes up on a beach has the same kind of back-and-forth movement as a crowd of baseball fans doing "the wave" in the stands. Use the verb wave to describe a greeting that includes a hand motion, from the enthusiastic flapping wave of a little kid meeting his dad at the airport to the prim wave of a Queen acknowledging her subjects. In physics, when you talk about a sound wave, there is a similar kind of rise and fall. Two Old English root words of wave are wæfre, "wavering or restless," and wagian, "to move to and fro."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wave Wave waves waved waving

"Each slow wave reflects an enormous population of neurons switching off and back on together," Sharon said.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

A wave of apparent cyberattacks hit supermarket freezers in several European countries this week, spurring investigations and illustrating how even mundane physical infrastructure is vulnerable to hackers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2026

The Democratic politician from Texas played linebacker for the powder blue-clad Tennessee Titans for four years and he rode the historic blue wave Tuesday to return to the U.S.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026

It had honeypots which appeared to be located around the world, and started seeing activity 10 days before the second wave of cyber-attacks.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

She was smiling, and she lifted her hand in a little wave.

From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold

Adams said Tarantino thoroughly enjoyed it, and described it as reminding him of French New Wave cinema that emerged from the late 1950s to the late 1960s.

From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026

For Operation Tidal Wave, 180 Liberators would fly from Libya to attack, at treetop level, one of the most heavily defended targets outside Germany.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

I was the booking person for “New Wave Theatre”; it was myself and my boyfriend at the time, Richard Skidmore.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

Look closely at Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, one of Japan's most famous works of art, and the brilliant whites seem almost painted onto the scene.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

Wave after wave of fetterlings swarmed over the rooftop gardens, and yet somehow we held them back.

From "Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky" by Kwame Mbalia

During the summer, heavy waves and erosion closed the rail line for several days.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

While the warmer waters of the Pacific in an El Niño directly disrupt the weather around tropical areas, pulses of energy in the atmosphere, known as planetary waves, can cause disturbances even at polar regions.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

These waves can push the polar vortex out of position and break the circulation up.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

"It's how much pathology you have in frontal areas where global waves originate."

From Science Daily ● Nov. 5, 2026

He doesn’t look at me as they pass, but behind his back he waves me along.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Three Ukrainian soldiers ran over to help Vlasenko but he waved them away.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Liverpool also had another penalty appeal turned waved away when Cody Gakpo went down in the box under pressure from Christos Tzolis.

From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2026

“As soon as we made eye contact and waved to each other,” Janko said, “it all kind of just melted away.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Leo waved to well-wishers as he left the Vatican by car and smiled and waved to crowds waiting for him at the Gemelli, before walking into the hospital.

From Barron's ● Oct. 13, 2026

“Right you are, Danny!” she said, and waved her hand in the air.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

In Laayoune, the territory's largest city, footage showed people celebrating, waving Moroccan flags and displaying portraits of King Mohammed VI.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

Leaving the United States doesn’t mean waving goodbye to the U.S. tax system.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

It was akin to waving a magic wand and allows the lenders to choose the highest score available.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

"You can see how big the crowd is already," demonstrator Abhay Aryan, 28, told AFP as the crowd marched towards the Supreme Court, chanting slogans and waving placards.

From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026

Boo has tomato sauce on her cheeks and she’s waving her fork around.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

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Related Words

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