Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

make waves

Idioms  

  1. Cause a disturbance or controversy, as in We've finally settled our differences, so please don't make waves. This expression alludes to causing turbulence in the water. [Slang; mid-1900s] Also see rock the boat.

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.

But clips from the show often make waves on social media, and have a way of changing how the tech crowd thinks about the issues of the day.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

That set off days of intensive efforts using boats to make waves, then excavators to dig up sand and free the whale, as fears grew for its life.

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Annabelle is not the first young woman from Norwich to make waves in the wrestling scene.

From BBC • Mar. 6, 2025

Ali Abbasi’s controversial Trump biopic “The Apprentice,” which continued to make waves at the Telluride Film Festival earlier this month, will also screen ahead of its release nationwide on Oct.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 12, 2024

But these people were here to rescue her, and she didn’t want to make waves.

From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray

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.