wave
a disturbance on the surface of a liquid body, as the sea or a lake, in the form of a moving ridge or swell.
any surging or progressing movement or part resembling a wave of the sea: a wave of the pulse.
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.
a widespread feeling, opinion, tendency, etc.: a wave of anti-intellectualism; the new wave of installment buying.
a mass movement, as of troops, settlers, or migrating birds.
an outward curve, or one of a series of such curves, in a surface or line; undulation.
an act or instance of waving.
a fluttering sign or signal made with the hand, a flag, etc.: a farewell wave.
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.
a period or spell of unusually hot or cold weather.
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.
Literary.
a body of water.
the sea.
(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.
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.
to curve alternately in opposite directions; have an undulating form: The road waved along the valley.
to bend or sway up and down or to and fro, as branches or plants in the wind.
to be moved, especially alternately in opposite directions: The woman's handkerchief waved in encouragement.
to give a signal by fluttering or flapping something: She waved to me with her hand.
to cause to flutter or have a waving motion in: A night wind waves the tattered banners.
to cause to bend or sway up and down or to and fro: The storm waved the heavy branches of the elm.
to give an undulating form to; cause to curve up and down or in and out.
to give a wavy appearance or pattern to, as silk.
to impart a wave to (the hair).
to move, especially alternately in opposite directions: to wave the hand.
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.
to signify or express by a waving movement: to wave a last goodbye.
Idioms about wave
make waves, Informal. 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.
Origin of wave
1synonym study For wave
Other words for wave
Other words from wave
- waveless, adjective
- wave·less·ly, adverb
- wav·ing·ly, adverb
- wavelike, adjective
- outwave, verb (used with object), out·waved, out·wav·ing.
- un·der·wave, noun
- un·der·wav·ing, noun
- un·wav·ing, adjective
Words that may be confused with wave
- waive, wave
How to use wave in a sentence
North Dakota, on the other hand, is one of the states that’s been hardest-hit by this current wave of outbreaks, with 1 in every 1,000 residents now dead from the virus.
Why Even A Small Thanksgiving Is Dangerous | Maggie Koerth (maggie.koerth-baker@fivethirtyeight.com) | November 20, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightBy the end of 2021, at least ten elephants will be sporting the new collars in selected parks across Africa, in partnership with the World Wildlife Fund and Vulcan’s EarthRanger, unleashing a new wave of conservation, learning and defending.
Can artificial intelligence give elephants a winning edge? | Walter Thompson | November 20, 2020 | TechCrunchNormally, in a recession of the magnitude that we’ve had, we would have already been in the midst of a wave of corporate bankruptcies.
The biggest risks and opportunities for investors in 2021 | matthewheimer | November 20, 2020 | FortuneThe wave of hospitalizations and deaths had lagged behind cases, but it crashed down over the past few weeks.
Europe's brutal coronavirus surge begins to ease after restrictions | Dave Lawler | November 19, 2020 | AxiosBefore they disappeared into crowded assembly lines, the young Guatemalan immigrants in Bensenville arrived in the United States as part of a new wave of young Central American asylum-seekers who have captured the nation’s attention in recent years.
Inside the Lives of Immigrant Teens Working Dangerous Night Shifts in Suburban Factories | by Melissa Sanchez | November 19, 2020 | ProPublica
Islamists stood next to communists waving Palestinian flags and hurling insults at Israeli officials.
A New Intifada? Israel’s Arab Citizen Uprising Spreads | Creede Newton | November 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWaving a silk cloth, he declared, “Gentlemen, I will have this land just as surely as I now have this handkerchief.”
“Check the dining hall,” a young woman exclaimed, waving to her left, and a dozen persons surged in that direction.
Inside a Hospital for the Criminally Insane | Caitlin Dickson | September 15, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe mother keeps gesturing at them, waving her hands in the air.
Whatever You Do Someone Will Die. A Short Story About Impossible Choices in Iraq | Nathan Bradley Bethea | August 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFrom a balcony on one side, a few people looked down on us as we entered, waving hello.
Fighting Back With Faith: Inside the Yezidis’ Iraqi Temple | Michael Luongo | August 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHis wife stood smiling and waving, the boys shouting, as he disappeared in the old rockaway down the sandy road.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinThe Cockalorum pondered over this for a moment, and then murmuring, "I prefer croquet," floundered away through the waving grass.
Davy and The Goblin | Charles E. CarrylHaggard leant from the window, waving his hand; his wife gazed after the vanishing train, standing like Niobe, dissolved in tears.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James Wills"Certainly—certainly," said the Assistant Commissioner, waving one large hand in the direction of a bookshelf.
Dope | Sax Rohmer"There was a pile of 'em that high, Mark," said Perry, waving his hands about a foot above the table.
The Soldier of the Valley | Nelson Lloyd
British Dictionary definitions for wave
/ (weɪv) /
to move or cause to move freely to and fro: the banner waved in the wind
(intr) to move the hand to and fro as a greeting
to signal or signify by or as if by waving something
(tr) to direct to move by or as if by waving something: he waved me on
to form or be formed into curves, undulations, etc
(tr) to give a wavy or watered appearance to (silk, etc)
(tr) to set waves in (the hair)
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
any undulation on or at the edge of a surface reminiscent of such a wave: a wave across the field of corn
the waves the sea
anything that suggests the movement of a wave, as by a sudden rise: a crime wave
a widespread movement that advances in a body: a wave of settlers swept into the country
the act or an instance of waving
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
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
a prolonged spell of some weather condition: a heat wave
an undulating curve or series of curves or loose curls in the hair
an undulating pattern or finish on a fabric
short for wave moth
make waves to cause trouble; disturb the status quo
ride the wave US slang to enjoy a period of success and good fortune
Origin of wave
1Derived forms of wave
- waveless, adjective
- wavelike, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for wave
[ wāv ]
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). See also longitudinal wave transverse wave wave function. See Note at refraction.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for wave
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.
Notes for wave
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with wave
see make waves.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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