solitary wave

American  

noun

Mathematics, Physics.

1. a localized disturbance that propagates like a wave but resembles a particle in that it does not disperse, even if it collides with other such waves.

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Example Sentences

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solitary wave

Fincham, who was born in Britain and grew up in Jamaica, envisioned a soliton—a solitary wave that maintains its energy as it propagates.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 10, 2018

The result is what physicists call a solitary wave, or soliton, that mimics an individual swell in the open ocean.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 8, 2017

On the balcony the Emperor of Liparia salutes his excited people with a solitary wave of the hand; the Duke of Xara bows his head slightly.

From Majesty A Novel by Couperus, Louis

I am a solitary wave in the dark and desolate sea: and the sparkling glass I drank was drugged with misery.

From Peter Schlemihl by Bowring, John

Now the Silver Knight had sworn—that the Standard so long borne By the Aureate One, in scorn irreducible Should not solitary wave.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, December 3, 1892 by Burnand, F. C. (Francis Cowley), Sir