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

• waxer
  noun
• waxable
  adjective
• 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

Explanation

The verb wax is most often found in the company of its opposite, "wane." To wax is to grow larger or increase, whereas wane means to grow smaller or decrease. As the moon grows towards fullness, it waxes. It wanes, or diminishes in size, as the new moon approaches. This is the most common context for the verb wax, but it is also used to describe other phenomena that grow or increase, particularly those that are cyclical. Figuratively, if you wax eloquent, lyrical or poetic about something, you talk about it at great length and with growing enthusiasm. The noun wax refers to chemical compounds that can be shaped and molded, for example into candles, when warm.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wax waxed waxen waxing

Revenue could also become more volatile since incomes of high earners wax and wane with capital gains.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

"I just couldn't believe. It was like going to Madame Tussauds but the wax was animated and you could interact with the wax and it talked back to you, it was absolutely mad."

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

Queen cells have a distinctive peanut-like shape and are built from wax that differs physically and chemically from ordinary hive wax.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026

"Surf wax, which we put on the boards, is not available at all in Gaza, so we resort to candle wax so we can keep this sport going," he added.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

The dinner dishes are stacked in the sink, and the candle wax is dripping onto the Formica table, and the wineglasses only have the last puddles of red.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

I’ve waxed poetic about pre-chopped onions as a doorway to weeknight cooking.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

Doing laundry, cleaning the tub, getting your upper lip waxed at a nearby salon — these are all chores that fall into this category.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

Individual participation has waxed and waned, rising in good times and falling after crises like the 1929 crash and the 2007-09 recession of 2007.

From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026

His popularity as a performer waxed and waned over the years, but he maintained a steady career writing hits for other artists for decades, collaborating with lyricists such as Howard Greenfield.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2026

The following morning, before going to work, Mama and I covered my note pad with waxed paper to keep it clean.

From "The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child" by Francisco Jiménez

Most significantly, Flanner reported from the trials at Nuremberg, writing that a group of Nazi prisoners “seem already waxen and posthumous, like museum figures of the members of some nefarious long-ago regime which had failed.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 19, 2026

His waxen face was frozen in a perpetual scowl.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024

Urs Fischer offers a literally waxen redeployment of antique statuary: a candle in the shape of the Three Graces, the central goddess facing backward, their absent heads turned into burning wicks.

From New York Times ● Apr. 20, 2023

Soon after her fourth birthday, in the summer of 1930, a waxen effigy of Princess Elizabeth made its debut at Madame Tussauds, seated on a pony.

From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2022

He was in his late twenties, blond, with fair, almost waxen, skin.

From "Salt to the Sea" by Ruta Sepetys

Tim Campbell, CEO of Baillie Gifford—that paradoxically venerable yet go-go Scottish investment house—is waxing eloquent about maybe his favorite stock in the entire universe.

From Barron's ● May 21, 2026

Online influencer Aniessa Navarro said she felt sick when she realised during a personal waxing session that her technician was wearing Meta's glasses.

From BBC ● May 13, 2026

Known as the Dragon Slayer, he’s often shown meditating, praying, waxing philosophical, and pontificating on nobility, integrity and honor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

As life went on, Stanton got well into the intricacies of movement politics: meetings, rivalries, lectures, tactical disputes, the waxing and waning of public support.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 27, 2026

And so it goes, waxing and waning like a tide, both toxic and healing at the same time.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman