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wave

[ weyv ]

/ weɪv /

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noun

a disturbance on the surface of a liquid body, as the sea or a lake, in the form of a moving ridge or swell.

any surging or progressing movement or part resembling a wave of the sea: a wave of the pulse.

a swell, surge, or rush, as of feeling or of a certain condition: a wave of disgust sweeping over a person; a wave of cholera throughout the country.

a widespread feeling, opinion, tendency, etc.: a wave of anti-intellectualism; the new wave of installment buying.

a mass movement, as of troops, settlers, or migrating birds.

an outward curve, or one of a series of such curves, in a surface or line; undulation.

an act or instance of waving.

a fluttering sign or signal made with the hand, a flag, etc.: a farewell wave.

natural waviness of the hair, or a special treatment to impart waviness: to have a wave in one's hair; to get a shampoo and a wave.

a period or spell of unusually hot or cold weather.

Physics. a progressive disturbance propagated from point to point in a medium or space without progress or advance by the points themselves, as in the transmission of sound or light.

Literary.

water.
a body of water.
the sea.

(at sports events, especially baseball games) a momentary standing and sitting back down by spectators in a sequential, lateral way to create, en masse, a wavelike effect visually.

verb (used without object), waved, wav·ing.

to move freely and gently back and forth or up and down, as by the action of air currents, sea swells, etc.: The flags were waving in the wind.

to curve alternately in opposite directions; have an undulating form: The road waved along the valley.

to bend or sway up and down or to and fro, as branches or plants in the wind.

to be moved, especially alternately in opposite directions: The woman's handkerchief waved in encouragement.

to give a signal by fluttering or flapping something: She waved to me with her hand.

verb (used with object), waved, wav·ing.

to cause to flutter or have a waving motion in: A night wind waves the tattered banners.

to cause to bend or sway up and down or to and fro: The storm waved the heavy branches of the elm.

to give an undulating form to; cause to curve up and down or in and out.

to give a wavy appearance or pattern to, as silk.

to impart a wave to (the hair).

to move, especially alternately in opposite directions: to wave the hand.

to signal to by waving a flag or the like; direct by a waving movement: to wave a train to a halt; to wave traffic around an obstacle.

to signify or express by a waving movement: to wave a last goodbye.

OTHER WORDS FOR wave

1 undulation, whitecap.

14 undulate, flutter, float, sway, rock; fluctuate.

See synonyms for wave on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms about wave

make waves, Informal. to disturb the status quo; cause trouble, as by questioning or resisting the accepted rules, procedures, etc.: The best way to stay out of trouble at the office is not to make waves.

Origin of wave

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English waven (verb), Old English wafian “to wave the hands”; cognate with Middle High German waben;cf. waver¹

synonym study for wave

1. Wave, ripple, breaker, surf refer to a ridge or swell on the surface of water. Wave is the general word: waves in a high wind. A ripple is the smallest kind of wave, such as is caused by a stone thrown into a pool: ripples in a brook. A breaker is a wave breaking, or about to break, upon the shore or upon rocks: the roar of breakers. Surf is the collective name for breakers: Heavy surf makes bathing dangerous.

OTHER WORDS FROM wave

waveless, adjectivewave·less·ly, adverbwav·ing·ly, adverbwavelike, adjective

outwave, verb (used with object), out·waved, out·wav·ing.un·der·wave, nounun·der·wav·ing, nounun·wav·ing, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wave

waive, wave

Words nearby wave

Waukesha, waul, waur, Wausau, Wauwatosa, wave, wave-and-pay, wave band, wave-cut platform, wave cyclone, waved

Other definitions for wave (2 of 2)

Wave

or WAVE

[ weyv ]

/ weɪv /

noun

a member of the Waves.

Origin of Wave

First recorded in 1942; see origin at Waves

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wave in a sentence

This year has marked a new wave of organizing among tech workers.
Human Capital: The battle over the fate of gig workers continues|Megan Rose Dickey|September 11, 2020|TechCrunch
It’s a beach break, so the sand is constantly shifting and changing the way the wave breaks.
Carissa Moore's 5 Favorite Surf Towns|Megan Michelson|September 9, 2020|Outside Online
Influencer marketing is witnessing Micro-influencers making waves.
How businesses can use YouTube to tackle the COVID-19 business crisis|Catherrine Garcia|September 7, 2020|Search Engine Watch
He suggested gravitational waves might be a good way to study the sun’s massive eddies.
Readers ask about neutrinos in the sun’s core, megaflashes and mussels|Science News Staff|September 6, 2020|Science News

To keep the old one going, Newton will have to jump-start a mediocre offense, and Belichick will have to ride out an unprecedented wave of defensive defections.
Newton Can Replace Brady, But Can The Pats Replace Half Of Their Defense?|Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com)|September 3, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Thus it attracted a wave of cowboy operators to fly passengers and cargo between cities.
Who Will Get AsiaAir 8501’s Black Boxes?|Clive Irving|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
There have been previous waves of people moving to Texas, and we are now experiencing the latest wave.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The army has since conducted a brutal wave of jailings against activists and journalists.
Behind Bars for the Holidays: 11 Political Prisoners We Want to See Free In 2015|Movements.Org|December 25, 2014|DAILY BEAST
We prefer to wave away the warning signs; like The Interview, Mulholland Drive was comfortably downplayed as over-the-top satire.
Pyongyang Shuffle: Hollywood In Dead Panic Over Sony Hack|James Poulos|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What are your feelings about the wave of support that always immediately presents itself from the other side?
The Unbearable Whiteness of Protesting|Rawiya Kameir, Judnick Mayard|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But to wave this discourse of Heathens, how many self-contradicting principles are there held among Christians?
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
The wave-like movement of these animals is particularly graceful and cleverly done.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
While you were admiring the long roll of the wave, a sudden spray would be dashed over you, and make you catch your breath!
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
"Yes," said Punch, lifted up in his father's arms to wave good-bye.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
"I've brought ye thet Injun I wuz tellin' ye uv," she said, with a wave of her hand toward Alessandro.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson

British Dictionary definitions for wave

wave

/ (weɪv) /

verb

to move or cause to move freely to and frothe banner waved in the wind

(intr) to move the hand to and fro as a greeting

to signal or signify by or as if by waving something

(tr) to direct to move by or as if by waving somethinghe waved me on

to form or be formed into curves, undulations, etc

(tr) to give a wavy or watered appearance to (silk, etc)

(tr) to set waves in (the hair)

noun

one of a sequence of ridges or undulations that moves across the surface of a body of a liquid, esp the sea: created by the wind or a moving object and gravity

any undulation on or at the edge of a surface reminiscent of such a wavea wave across the field of corn

the waves the sea

anything that suggests the movement of a wave, as by a sudden risea crime wave

a widespread movement that advances in a bodya wave of settlers swept into the country

the act or an instance of waving

physics an oscillation propagated through a medium or space such that energy is periodically interchanged between two kinds of disturbance. For example, an oscillating electric field generates a magnetic oscillation and vice versa, hence an electromagnetic wave is produced. Similarly a wave on a liquid comprises vertical and horizontal displacementsSee also antinode, longitudinal wave, node, standing wave, transverse wave

physics a graphical representation of a wave obtained by plotting the magnitude of the disturbance against time at a particular point in the medium or space; waveform

a prolonged spell of some weather conditiona heat wave

an undulating curve or series of curves or loose curls in the hair

an undulating pattern or finish on a fabric

short for wave moth

make waves to cause trouble; disturb the status quo

ride the wave US slang to enjoy a period of success and good fortune

Derived forms of wave

waveless, adjectivewavelike, adjective

Word Origin for wave

Old English wafian (vb); related to Old High German weban to weave, Old Norse vafra; see waver; C16 (n) changed from earlier wāwe, probably from Old English wǣg motion; compare wag 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for wave

wave

[ wāv ]

A disturbance, oscillation, or vibration, either of a medium and moving through that medium (such as water and sound waves), or of some quantity with different values at different points in space, moving through space (such as electromagnetic waves or a quantum mechanical wave described by the wave function). See also longitudinal wave transverse wave wave function. See Note at refraction.

Cultural definitions for wave

wave

In physics, any regularly recurring event, such as surf coming in toward a beach, that can be thought of as a disturbance moving through a medium. Waves are characterized by wavelength, frequency, and the speed at which they move. Waves are found in many forms.

notes for wave

The motion of a wave and the motion of the medium on which the wave moves are not the same: ocean waves, for example, move toward the beach, but the water itself merely moves up and down. Sound waves are spread by alternating compression and expansion of air.

Other Idioms and Phrases with wave

wave

see make waves.

wave

OTHER WORDS FOR wave

Idioms about wave

Origin of wave

synonym study for wave

OTHER WORDS FROM wave

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH wave

Words nearby wave

Other definitions for wave (2 of 2)

or WAVE

Origin of Wave

Words related to wave

How to use wave in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for wave

Derived forms of wave

Word Origin for wave

Scientific definitions for wave

Cultural definitions for wave

notes for wave

Other Idioms and Phrases with wave