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• wave
  wave

  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.
• Wave
  Wave

  noun

  a member of the Waves.

wave

¹ American  

[wayv] / weɪv /

noun

• waves
  plural

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

   Synonyms:

   whitecap, undulation

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

   a wave of the pulse.

3. 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.

4. a widespread feeling, opinion, tendency, etc..

   a wave of anti-intellectualism; the new wave of installment buying.

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

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

7. an act or instance of waving.

8. a fluttering sign or signal made with the hand, a flag, etc..

   a farewell wave.

9. 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.

10. a period or spell of unusually hot or cold weather.

11. 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.

12. Literary.

    1. water.

    2. a body of water.

    3. the sea.

13. (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.

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verb (used without object)

• waves,
  present (3rd person singular)
• waved,
  past participle,  past
• waving
  present participle

1. 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.

   Synonyms:

   fluctuate, rock, sway, float, flutter, undulate

2. to curve alternately in opposite directions; have an undulating form.

   The road waved along the valley.

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

4. to be moved, especially alternately in opposite directions.

   The woman's handkerchief waved in encouragement.

5. to give a signal by fluttering or flapping something.

   She waved to me with her hand.

verb (used with object)

• waves,
  present (3rd person singular)
• waved,
  past participle,  past
• waving
  present participle

1. to cause to flutter or have a waving motion in.

   A night wind waves the tattered banners.

2. to cause to bend or sway up and down or to and fro.

   The storm waved the heavy branches of the elm.

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

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

5. to impart a wave to (the hair).

6. to move, especially alternately in opposite directions.

   to wave the hand.

7. 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.

8. to signify or express by a waving movement.

   to wave a last goodbye.

idioms

1. make waves, 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.

Wave ² American  

[wayv] / weɪv /

Or WAVE

noun

1. a member of the Waves.

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wave British  

/ weɪv /

verb

1. to move or cause to move freely to and fro

   the banner waved in the wind

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

3. to signal or signify by or as if by waving something

4. (tr) to direct to move by or as if by waving something

   he waved me on

5. to form or be formed into curves, undulations, etc

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

7. (tr) to set waves in (the hair)

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noun

1. 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

2. any undulation on or at the edge of a surface reminiscent of such a wave

   a wave across the field of corn

3. the sea

4. anything that suggests the movement of a wave, as by a sudden rise

   a crime wave

5. a widespread movement that advances in a body

   a wave of settlers swept into the country

6. the act or an instance of waving

7. 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 displacements See also antinode longitudinal wave node standing wave transverse wave

8. 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

9. a prolonged spell of some weather condition

   a heat wave

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

11. an undulating pattern or finish on a fabric

12. short for wave moth

13. to cause trouble; disturb the status quo

14. slang to enjoy a period of success and good fortune

wave Scientific  

/ wāv /

1. 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).

2. See also longitudinal wave transverse wave wave function See Note at refraction

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wave Cultural  

1. 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.

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wave More Idioms  

1. see make waves.

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Synonym Usage

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.

Discover More

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 Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underwave
  noun
• underwaving
  noun
• outwave
  verb (used with object)
• unwaving
  adjective
• waveless
  adjective
• wavelike
  adjective
• wavelessly
  adverb
• wavingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• waves
  plural

Participles

• waving
  present
• waved
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• wave
  simple
• waves
  simple
• have waved
  perfect
• has waved
  perfect
• am waving
  progressive
• are waving
  progressive
• is waving
  progressive
• have been waving
  perfect progressive
• has been waving
  perfect progressive

Past

• waved
  simple
• had waved
  perfect
• was waving
  progressive
• were waving
  progressive
• had been waving
  perfect progressive

Future

• will wave
  simple
• will have waved
  perfect
• will be waving
  progressive
• will have been waving
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of wave¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English waven (verb), Old English wafian “to wave the hands”; cognate with Middle High German waben; cf. waver ¹

Origin of Wave²

First recorded in 1942; see origin at Waves

Explanation

The word wave has many different meanings, but they all have to do with an undulating motion or shape. A wave that washes up on a beach has the same kind of back-and-forth movement as a crowd of baseball fans doing "the wave" in the stands. Use the verb wave to describe a greeting that includes a hand motion, from the enthusiastic flapping wave of a little kid meeting his dad at the airport to the prim wave of a Queen acknowledging her subjects. In physics, when you talk about a sound wave, there is a similar kind of rise and fall. Two Old English root words of wave are wæfre, "wavering or restless," and wagian, "to move to and fro."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wave Wave waves waved waving

The brain wave recordings revealed another potentially important change.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

“This is not going to be a heat wave that suddenly breaks in a dramatic fashion,” said UC Agriculture and Natural Resources climate scientist Daniel Swain.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

The latest attack came amid a renewed wave of incidents threatening the recent recovery in Middle East crude exports.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

The wave of demonstrations began in September in Paris and has spread across the country, with students protesting over a range of issues, including overcrowded classrooms, run-down buildings, and a lack of teachers.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Once we’re in position, we wave to our families, who are standing together with their posters ready.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Look closely at Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa, one of Japan's most famous works of art, and the brilliant whites seem almost painted onto the scene.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 10, 2026

I wrote about Frankie Valli a few years ago, and he and Bob Gaudio seemed eager to have this company Primary Wave out there finding ways to — Monetize the catalog.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

The top two tiers were closed with a sparse crowd of under 20,000 in an 82,000-capacity stadium, and a first-half Mexican Wave indicated the supporters were not always fully engaged.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

Wave, a public jitney, runs routes all over the island and is free through the end of 2026.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

Wave tips, foaming, lighter brown, warn of currents deep.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

The observations provide the first direct evidence that quark-gluon plasma responds to fast-moving particles as a unified fluid, producing waves, splashes, and swirling motion instead of simply behaving as a collection of independently scattering particles.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026

And instead of warm days in the summer, Boulder gets more heat waves that lead to “premature deaths” and “adverse economic impacts,” particularly on outdoor labor sectors like agriculture and construction.

From Slate ● Oct. 5, 2026

Three colour co-ordinated waves of runners then head off for the 10k between 08:30 and 09:03.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

The speed and force violently shook the airframe, formed shock waves along with wings and sent ripples along the components used to control direction and manipulate speed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026

Heat washed over me in waves as I tried not to think too hard about how nice Oliver’s smile was, whether that brief touch had been accidental or intentional...

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

That’s when security happily waved Summer McNulty through.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Jumping down from her uncle's shoulders, seven-year-old Dona ran grinning to her mother after Pope Leo XIV waved at her on his way past on a famed Paris avenue.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

Before the winner, Pierce Charles had saved a controversial penalty from Georgia captain Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and his brother Shea had an appeal waved away at the other end.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

And while GM Brandon Gomes publicly blamed the “ebbs and flows” of a season and not knee inflammation or biceps tightness, Ohtani waved wildly at pitches and piled up 22 strikeouts in 14 games.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Just then, Mrs. Pritchard herself stepped out from behind the wash and waved.

From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney

Around him, fans tried to cool themselves by waving makeshift fans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

They stopped calling on Najya in class, making her “so frustrated that, waving her hand furiously, she began to blurt out the answers.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

The spousal role on state visits has traditionally been decorative: waving, smiling and visiting cultural venues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

In early K-pop, fans supported artists by waving coloured balloons or generic glow sticks.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

But Trey was waving at someone waiting in line to order.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Related Words

• crest
• flood
• influx
• movement
• outbreak
• rash
• rush
• sign
• stream
• surge
• swell
• tide
• upsurge