bow wave
Americannoun
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the wave generated on either side of a vessel's bow by its forward movement through the water.
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a type of shock wave formed in front of a body moving at supersonic speed.
Etymology
Origin of bow wave
First recorded in 1875–80
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It was the bow wave of a boom decade of growth the likes of which the city hadn’t seen since the gold rush.
From Seattle Times • May 11, 2024
Diffuse gas in the two galactic haloes would compress on collision, forming a curved structure like the bow wave from a ship moving through water.
From Scientific American • Jan. 12, 2023
“But as a lifetime sailor, the sound I miss is that of the bow wave of a sloop,” he wrote.
From Washington Post • Sep. 28, 2020
Not only can you see the bow wave perfectly illuminated by starlight, he says, but the agitation of the water causes "trails of bioluminescence, like underwater fireflies or grinder sparks".
From BBC • May 30, 2020
The bow wave of the tanker hit him then, a large curl of water kicking sideways from the ship.
From "The Voyage Of The Frog" by Gary Paulsen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
