a disturbance on the surface of a liquid body, as the sea or a lake, in the form of a moving ridge or swell.
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.
(at sports events, esp. baseball games) a momentary standing and sitting back down by spectators in a sequential, lateral way to create, en masse, a wavelike effect visually.
–verb (used without object)
14.
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.
15.
to curve alternately in opposite directions; have an undulating form: The road waved along the valley.
16.
to bend or sway up and down or to and fro, as branches or plants in the wind.
17.
to be moved, esp. alternately in opposite directions: The woman's handkerchief waved in encouragement.
18.
to give a signal by fluttering or flapping something: She waved to me with her hand.
–verb (used with object)
19.
to cause to flutter or have a waving motion in: A night wind waves the tattered banners.
20.
to cause to bend or sway up and down or to and fro: The storm waved the heavy branches of the elm.
21.
to give an undulating form to; cause to curve up and down or in and out.
22.
to give a wavy appearance or pattern to, as silk.
23.
to impart a wave to (the hair).
24.
to move, esp. alternately in opposite directions: to wave the hand.
25.
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.
26.
to signify or express by a waving movement: to wave a last good-bye.
—Idiom
27.
make waves, Informal. 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.
Origin: 1325–75; ME waven (v.), OE wafian to wave the hands; c. MHG waben;cf. waver1
Related forms:
waveless, adjective
wave⋅less⋅ly, adverb
wav⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
wavelike, adjective
Synonyms: 1.undulation, whitecap. 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. 14.undulate, flutter, float, sway, rock; fluctuate.
To move freely back and forth or up and down in the air, as branches in the wind.
To make a signal with an up-and-down or back-and-forth movement of the hand or an object held in the hand: waved as she drove by.
To have an undulating or wavy form; curve or curl: Her hair waves naturally.
v.
tr.
To cause to move back and forth or up and down, either once or repeatedly: She waved a fan before her face.
To move or swing as in giving a signal: He waved his hand. See Synonyms at flourish.
To signal or express by waving the hand or an object held in the hand: We waved goodbye.
To signal (a person) to move in a specified direction: The police officer waved the motorist into the right lane.
To arrange into curves, curls, or undulations: wave one's hair.
n.
A ridge or swell moving through or along the surface of a large body of water.
A small ridge or swell moving across the interface of two fluids and dependent on surface tension.
A moving curve or succession of curves in or on a surface; an undulation: waves of wheat in the wind.
A curve or succession of curves, as in the hair.
A curved shape, outline, or pattern.
A surge or rush, as of sensation: a wave of nausea; a wave of indignation.
A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity: a wave of panic selling on the stock market.
A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals: a wave of conservatism.
One of a succession of mass movements: the first wave of settlers.
A maneuver in which fans at a sports event simulate an ocean wave by rising quickly in sequence with arms upraised and then quickly sitting down again in a continuous rolling motion.
A disturbance traveling through a medium by which energy is transferred from one particle of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium itself.
A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
A single cycle of such a disturbance.
The sea. Often used in the plural: vanished beneath the waves.
Something that suggests the form and motion of a wave in the sea, especially:
A moving curve or succession of curves in or on a surface; an undulation: waves of wheat in the wind.
A curve or succession of curves, as in the hair.
A curved shape, outline, or pattern.
A surge or rush, as of sensation: a wave of nausea; a wave of indignation.
A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity: a wave of panic selling on the stock market.
A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals: a wave of conservatism.
One of a succession of mass movements: the first wave of settlers.
A maneuver in which fans at a sports event simulate an ocean wave by rising quickly in sequence with arms upraised and then quickly sitting down again in a continuous rolling motion.
A disturbance traveling through a medium by which energy is transferred from one particle of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium itself.
A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
A single cycle of such a disturbance.
A movement up and down or back and forth: a wave of the hand.
A surge or rush, as of sensation: a wave of nausea; a wave of indignation.
A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity: a wave of panic selling on the stock market.
A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals: a wave of conservatism.
One of a succession of mass movements: the first wave of settlers.
A maneuver in which fans at a sports event simulate an ocean wave by rising quickly in sequence with arms upraised and then quickly sitting down again in a continuous rolling motion.
A disturbance traveling through a medium by which energy is transferred from one particle of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium itself.
A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
A single cycle of such a disturbance.
A widespread, persistent meteorological condition, especially of temperature: a heat wave.
Physics
A disturbance traveling through a medium by which energy is transferred from one particle of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the medium itself.
A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
A single cycle of such a disturbance.
Phrasal Verb(s): wave off
To dismiss or refuse by waving the hand or arm: waved off his invitation to join the group.
Sports To cancel or nullify by waving the arms, usually from a crossed position: waved off the goal because time had run out.
[Middle English waven, from Old English wafian; see webh- in Indo-European roots.] wav'er n.
[weyv] 
noun, verb, waved, wav⋅ing.
