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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

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Etymology

Origin of new wave

First recorded in 1955–60

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

new wave New Wave

Writing about the soundtrack, The Denver Post’s Michael Booth said the music was “not interesting enough to save this bauble,” and that Coppola “doesn’t even have the conviction to remain new wave throughout.”

From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026

Admitting the government has not done enough in recent years to prevent gender-based violence, he announced a new wave of measures to help protect women and girls.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

A new wave of battery facilities are being built in or near densely populated areas, where some residents and local officials worry about the risk of fires.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

But “The Spiral” also suggests that, as in America, a new wave of global horror is just about to bubble over.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 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

The 1979 movie version, a landmark of the Aussie New Wave, established the careers of director Gillian Armstrong, actress Judy Davis and the recently departed New Zealander Sam Neill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

In the latter, I play actress Jean Seberg in a film on the making of the French New Wave classic “Breathless.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 4, 2025

He was also warmly received as a young man by Georges Delerue, the great serenader of the French New Wave in films like “Jules and Jim” and “Contempt.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 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

He could get back to New Wave in November, after he got his driver's license.

From "Eleanor & Park" by Rainbow Rowell

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