1942; W(omen) A(ccepted for) V(olunteer) E(mergency) S(ervice)
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Waves are not expected to be as big as those that pounded the shore last week and led to the deaths of two people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2026
Waves entering Wellington Harbour on Tuesday were measured at 11 metres, New Zealand's MetService said.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
Waves of xenophobia had swept the nation at the turn of the century following a massive surge of immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe.
From Salon ● May 26, 2026
Waves of strikes by guards and other staff have periodically closed galleries, with unions warning about understaffing, safety risks and the pressures of managing millions of visitors annually.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
Waves thunder in the distance, and although the ocean’s cadence has always been comforting to me, the silence that lingers in between each crashing wave now strikes me as odd.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
They were code breakers in the Navy’s program called Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2022
During World War II, Ms. Grumbach’s husband was drafted and she joined the Naval Women’s Reserve, commonly known as the WAVES, an acronym for Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service.
From New York Times ● Nov. 5, 2022
However, for Hannah and organisations like WAVES, the battle has been not only about changing the hearts and minds of the country's leaders, but also within the wider community itself.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2020
THE WAVES: Renfroe was joined by center fielder Manuel Margot and second baseman Carlos Asuaje in the first wave of talent that came up late last year.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 2, 2017
But he only said, "I remember your college well. I was up there, during the war. They had a WAC station, didn't they? Or was it WAVES?"
From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath
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.
