undulation
Americannoun
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an act of undulating; a wavelike motion.
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a wavy form or outline.
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one of a series of wavelike bends, curves, or elevations.
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Physics.
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a wave.
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the motion of waves.
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noun
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the act or an instance of undulating
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any wave or wavelike form, line, etc
Etymology
Origin of undulation
First recorded in 1640–50; undul(ate) + -ation
Explanation
Undulation is a flowing, up-and-down movement like the motion of waves. Have you ever looked out over the ocean and watched the water flow up and down in waves? If so, you watched undulation, which is exactly that type of movement. Undulation best applies to waves, but it can also describe similar movements. If dancers are moving in a flowing manner, that's also undulation. The verb form of this word is undulate, and both come from the Latin word for "wave," unda.
Vocabulary lists containing undulation
Unit 1: Telling Details
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"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce
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Ethan Frome
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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.
While rolling, the snakes reached peak forward velocities ranging from 1.72 to 3.69 meters per second, approximately four times their maximum speed when moving through lateral undulation, the familiar side-to-side motion used by most snakes.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2026
Her boss' stiff façade slips as his spine and joints move in a constant state of undulation.
From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2025
The team didn’t see telltale signs of lateral undulation, the kind of movement that would indicate swimming played a prominent role in the evolutionary loss of limbs.
From Science Magazine ● Sep. 26, 2023
Eye-popping film of Gertie’s 1940 undulation and collapse became familiar to those in the 1950s who watched its repeated airings on the weekly ABC-TV series “You Asked For It.”
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2023
From behind us the last long rays of light played across the campus, accenting every slight undulation of the land, emphasizing the separateness of each bush.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
