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• new wave
  new wave

  noun

  a movement, trend, or vogue, as in art, literature, or politics, that breaks with traditional concepts, values, techniques, or the like.
• New Wave
  New Wave

  noun

  a movement in the French cinema of the 1960s, led by such directors as Godard, Truffaut, and Resnais, characterized by a fluid use of the camera and an abandonment of traditional editing techniques

new wave

American  

noun

1. a movement, trend, or vogue, as in art, literature, or politics, that breaks with traditional concepts, values, techniques, or the like.

2. (often initial capital letters) a group of leaders or representatives of such a movement, especially of French film directors of the late 1950s and early 1960s.

3. (often initial capital letters) a largely minimalist but emotionally intense style of rock music, being an outgrowth of punk rock in the late 1970s, typified by spare or repetitive arrangements, and emphasizing energetic, unpolished performance.

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New Wave ¹ British  

noun

1. Also known as: La Nouvelle Vague.  a movement in the French cinema of the 1960s, led by such directors as Godard, Truffaut, and Resnais, characterized by a fluid use of the camera and an abandonment of traditional editing techniques

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New Wave ² British  

noun

1. rock music of the late 1970s, related to punk but more complex: sometimes used to include punk

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new wave ³ British  

noun

1. a movement in art, film-making, politics, etc, that consciously breaks with traditional ideas

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Other Word Forms

• newwaver
  noun
• new-wave
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of new wave

First recorded in 1955–60

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

new wave New Wave

In October 2026, a new wave of cuts to CalFresh will decrease the federal government’s contribution to CalFresh from 50% to 25%, leaving a larger portion of costs to states, counties and regional organizations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

For Jutta Ambrositsch, a pioneering figure among the new wave of Viennese winemakers, "the major problem is insensitive and careless real estate development in the 'heurigen areas'".

From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026

The seminal pop-punk album, full of romantic innocence and disarming humor, foreshadowed the rise of new wave.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Probably best known for their 1979 hit Into the Valley, Dunfermline-based Skids were a punk and new wave band.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Niccolo Paganini was one of a new wave of superstar musicians in the first half of the nineteenth century.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Bohm, who died last year at 86, was a highly respected film writer, actor and academic, a veteran of Germany’s New Wave.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2026

The band’s arresting sound was evident from their very first single, “Just What I Needed”: Synthesizer melodies and minimalist song structures combined with arena-ready guitar solos to create an unflappable New Wave blend.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025

Sagan’s novel was adapted into a film four years later, where French New Wave icon Jean Seberg put a cherubic face to Cécile’s scheming.

From Salon ● May 2, 2025

There are a couple of knockouts – including the crunchy garage rock of Gap Toothed Smile, and the choppy New Wave anthem Link – but the point of the album is its diversity.

From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2025

I tell him I mostly like indie and New Wave, but he doesn’t know what those are, and they’re hard to explain in Spanish.

From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez