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Waves

Audio Help [weyvz] Pronunciation Key

–noun (used with a singular or plural verb

)

the Women's Reserve of the U.S. Naval Reserve, the distinct force of women enlistees in the U.S. Navy, organized during World War II.

Also, WAVES

[Origin: 1942; W(omen) A(ccepted for) V(olunteer) E(mergency) S(ervice)

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
waves

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

wave Audio Help   (wāv) Pronunciation Key
v.   waved, wav·ing, waves

v.   intr.

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.
1. To move or swing as in giving a signal: He waved his hand. See Synonyms at flourish.
2. To signal or express by waving the hand or an object held in the hand: We waved goodbye.
3. 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.

1. A ridge or swell moving through or along the surface of a large body of water.
2. A small ridge or swell moving across the interface of two fluids and dependent on surface tension.
3. A moving curve or succession of curves in or on a surface; an undulation: waves of wheat in the wind.
4. A curve or succession of curves, as in the hair.
5. A curved shape, outline, or pattern.
6. A surge or rush, as of sensation: a wave of nausea; a wave of indignation.
7. A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity: a wave of panic selling on the stock market.
8. A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals: a wave of conservatism.
9. One of a succession of mass movements: the first wave of settlers.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
13. 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:
1. A moving curve or succession of curves in or on a surface; an undulation: waves of wheat in the wind.
2. A curve or succession of curves, as in the hair.
3. A curved shape, outline, or pattern.
4. A surge or rush, as of sensation: a wave of nausea; a wave of indignation.
5. A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity: a wave of panic selling on the stock market.
6. A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals: a wave of conservatism.
7. One of a succession of mass movements: the first wave of settlers.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
11. A single cycle of such a disturbance.
A movement up and down or back and forth: a wave of the hand.
1. A surge or rush, as of sensation: a wave of nausea; a wave of indignation.
2. A sudden great rise, as in activity or intensity: a wave of panic selling on the stock market.
3. A rising trend that involves large numbers of individuals: a wave of conservatism.
4. One of a succession of mass movements: the first wave of settlers.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
8. A single cycle of such a disturbance.
A widespread, persistent meteorological condition, especially of temperature: a heat wave.
Physics
1. 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.
2. A graphic representation of the variation of such a disturbance with time.
3. 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.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Wave Audio Help (wāv) Pronunciation Key
n. A member of the women's reserve of the U.S. Navy, organized during World War II, but now no longer a separate branch.

[From W(omen) A(ccepted for) V(olunteer) E(mergency Service).]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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WAVES
abbr. Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

wave Audio Help (wāv) Pronunciation Key

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A disturbance, oscillation, or vibration, either of a medium and moving through that medium (such as water and sound waves), or of some quantity with different values at different points in space, moving through space (such as electromagnetic waves or a quantum mechanical wave described by the wave function). See also longitudinal wave , transverse wave , wave function. See Note at refraction.