Definition of WAVE

wave

Plural: waves

Noun

  • one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water)
  • a movement like that of a sudden occurrence or increase in a specified phenomenon
    • "a wave of settlers"
    • "troops advancing in waves"
  • (physics) a movement up and down or back and forth
  • something that rises rapidly
    • "a wave of emotion swept over him"
    • "there was a sudden wave of buying before the market closed"
    • "a wave of conservatism in the country led by the hard right"
  • the act of signaling by a movement of the hand
  • a hairdo that creates undulations in the hair
  • an undulating curve
  • a persistent and widespread unusual weather condition (especially of unusual temperatures)
    • "a heat wave"
  • a member of the women's reserve of the United States Navy; originally organized during World War II but now no longer a separate branch
  • A moving disturbance in the level of a body of liquid; an undulation.
  • The ocean.
  • A moving disturbance in the energy level of a field.
  • A shape that alternatingly curves in opposite directions.
  • Any of a number of species of moths in the geometrid subfamily Sterrhinae, which have wavy markings on the wings.
  • A loose back-and-forth movement, as of the hands.
  • A sudden, but temporary, uptick in something.
  • A movement or trend in popular culture.
  • One of the successive swarms of enemies sent to attack the player in certain games.
  • A group activity in a crowd imitating a wave going through water, where people in successive parts of the crowd stand and stretch upward, then sit.

Verb

Verb Forms: waved, waving, waves

  • To move back and forth; to gesture with a hand.
  • signal with the hands or nod
    • "She waved to her friends"
    • "He waved his hand hospitably"
  • move or swing back and forth
    • "She waved her gun"
  • move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion
    • "the waves rolled towards the beach"
  • twist or roll into coils or ringlets
  • set waves in
    • "she asked the hairdresser to wave her hair"
  • To move back and forth repeatedly and somewhat loosely.
  • To move one's hand back and forth (generally above the shoulders) in greeting or departure.
  • To call attention to, or give a direction or command to, by a waving motion, as of the hand; to signify by waving; to beckon; to signal; to indicate.
  • To have an undulating or wavy form.
  • To raise into inequalities of surface; to give an undulating form or surface to.
  • To style (the hair) so as to produce a wavy texture.
  • To swing and miss at a pitch.
  • To cause to move back and forth repeatedly.
  • To signal (someone or something) with a waving movement.
  • To fluctuate; to waver; to be in an unsettled state.
  • To move like a wave, or by floating; to waft.
  • To generate a wave.
  • Obsolete spelling of waive.

Examples

  • A wave of emotion overcame her when she thought about her son who was killed in battle.
  • A wave of retirees began moving to the coastal area.
  • A wave of shoppers stampeded through the door when the store opened for its Christmas discount special.
  • Gravity waves, while predicted by theory for decades, have been notoriously difficult to detect.
  • He dismissed her with a wave of the hand.
  • Her hair had a nice wave to it.
  • I tried to WAVE goodbye to my opponent’s chances of winning with my final word.
  • I waved goodbye from across the room.
  • Jones waves at strike one.
  • Korean Wave
  • New Wave
  • sine wave
  • The flag waved in the gentle breeze.
  • The starter waved the flag to begin the race.
  • The wave traveled from the center of the lake before breaking on the shore.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English waven, from Old English wafian (“to wave, fluctuate, waver in mind, wonder”), from Proto-West Germanic *wabōn, from Proto-Germanic *wabōną, *wabjaną (“to wander, sway”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to move to and from, wander”).
Cognate with Middle High German waben (“to wave”), German wabern (“to waft”), Icelandic váfa (“to fluctuate, waver, doubt”). See also waver.

Synonyms

beckon, brandish, curl, flap, flourish, moving ridge, roll, undulate, undulation, wafture, waving, Mexican wave, rush, und

Scrabble Score: 10

wave: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
wave: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
wave: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 11

wave: valid Words With Friends Word