wave theory

American  

noun

1. Also called undulatory theory.  Physics. the theory that light is transmitted as a wave, similar to oscillations in magnetic and electric fields.

2. Historical Linguistics. a theory that accounts for shared features among languages or dialects by identifying these features as innovations that spread from their points of origin to the speech of contiguous areas.

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wave theory British  

noun

1. the theory proposed by Huygens that light is transmitted by waves

2. any theory that light or other radiation is transmitted as waves See electromagnetic wave

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Etymology

Origin of wave theory

First recorded in 1825–35

Example Sentences

To better understand how the system behaves, the researcher used linear wave theory to model the interaction among ocean waves, the floating structure, and the gyroscope.

From Science Daily • Feb. 18, 2026

Aether: a medium that in the wave theory of light permeates all space and transmits transverse waves.

From New York Times • Jan. 19, 2018

The events after the Paris attacks suggest the wave theory over the pied piper theory.

From Salon • Dec. 8, 2015

Huygens explained how wave theory accounts for geometrical optics.

From Scientific American • Oct. 14, 2013

Light is quantized into photons, directly contradicting the wave theory of light that had not been questioned for more than a century.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife