wax

¹ American  

[waks] / wæks /

noun

1. Also called beeswax.  a solid, yellowish, nonglycerine substance allied to fats and oils, secreted by bees, plastic when warm and melting at about 145°F, variously employed in making candles, models, casts, ointments, etc., and used by bees in constructing their honeycomb.

2. any of various similar substances, as spermaceti or the secretions of certain insects and plants.

3. any of a group of substances composed of hydrocarbons, alcohols, fatty acids, and esters that are solid at ordinary temperatures.

4. earwax; cerumen.

5. a resinous substance used by shoemakers for rubbing thread.

6. sealing wax.

7. a person or object suggesting wax, as in manageability or malleability.

   I am helpless wax in your hands.

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verb (used with object)

1. to rub, smear, stiffen, polish, etc., with wax.

   to wax the floor.

2. to fill the crevices of (ornamental marble) with colored material.

3. bikini wax.

4. Informal. to make a phonograph recording of.

5. Slang. to defeat decisively; drub.

   We waxed the competition.

adjective

1. pertaining to, made of, or resembling wax.

   a wax candle; a wax doll.

idioms

1. whole ball of wax,

   1. the entire or overall plan, concept, action, result, or the like.

      The first ten minutes of the meeting will determine the whole ball of wax.

   2. everything of a similar or related nature.

      They sold us skis, boots, bindings, poles—the whole ball of wax.

wax ² American  

[waks] / wæks /

verb (used without object)

waxed, waxed, waxen, waxing

1. to increase in extent, quantity, intensity, power, etc..

   Discord waxed at an alarming rate.

   Synonyms:

   dilate, enlarge, lengthen, grow, extend

2. (of the moon) to increase in the extent of its illuminated portion before the full moon.

3. to grow or become.

   He waxed angry at the insinuation.

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wax ³ American  

[waks] / wæks /

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a fit of anger; rage.

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wax ¹ British  

/ wæks /

verb

1. to become larger, more powerful, etc

2. (of the moon) to show a gradually increasing portion of illuminated surface, between new moon and full moon Compare wane

3. archaic to become as specified

   the time waxed late

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wax ² British  

/ wæks /

noun

1. any of various viscous or solid materials of natural origin: characteristically lustrous, insoluble in water, and having a low softening temperature, they consist largely of esters of fatty acids

2. any of various similar substances, such as paraffin wax or ozocerite, that have a mineral origin and consist largely of hydrocarbons

3. short for beeswax sealing wax

4. physiol another name for cerumen

5. a resinous preparation used by shoemakers to rub on thread

6. a mixture of wax, oil, and carbolic acid applied to the cut surface of a bone to prevent bleeding

7. any substance or object that is pliable or easily moulded

   he was wax in the hands of the political bosses

8. (modifier) made of or resembling wax

   a wax figure

9. the act or an instance of removing body hair by coating it with warm wax, applying a strip of fabric, and then removing the fabric sharply, thereby plucking the hairs out by their roots

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verb

1. (tr) to coat, polish, etc, with wax

2. to remove (body hair) by means of a wax treatment

wax ³ British  

/ wæks /

noun

1. informal a fit of rage or temper

   he's in a wax today

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wax Scientific  

/ wăks /

1. Any of various solid, usually yellow substances that melt or soften easily when heated. They are similar to fats, but are less greasy and more brittle. Naturally occurring animal and plant waxes are esters of saturated fatty acids and alcohols of high molecular weight, including sterols. Waxes are also manufactured synthetically from petroleum, and are used to make polishers, lubricants, coatings, waterproofing, crayons, candles, and many other products.

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wax More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing wax

• whole ball of wax

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Other Word Forms

• waxable adjective
• waxer noun
• waxlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of wax¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun wax(e), wex(e), Old English weax, wex; cognate with Dutch was, German Wachs, Old Norse vax; the verb is derivative of the noun

Origin of wax²

First recorded before 900; Middle English waxen, wax(e), waxien, Old English weaxan, weacsan, weahsan; cognate with German wachsen; akin to waist

Origin of wax³

First recorded in 1850–55; perhaps special use of wax ²

Example Sentences

Particularly striking are Isidora’s eyelashes, which were carved into hot wax as it was applied to the thin wood panel on which the portrait was painted.

From The Wall Street Journal

Norway and Sweden arrived at races with double-decker wax trucks and fleets of expert technicians.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the home, a rich family might have one of the new phonographs that played music stored on wax cylinders, but most families were still making their own music, using sheet music or songbooks.

From The Wall Street Journal

Two South Korean cross-country skiers have been disqualified at the Winter Olympics after a banned type of wax was found on their skis.

From BBC

He used his thumb to break the wax seal and read his sister’s familiar bubbly handwriting.

From Literature