Waves
Use Waves in a sentence 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)
1942; W(omen) A(ccepted for) V(olunteer) E(mergency) S(ervice)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
1.
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.
13.
(at sports events, especially 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, especially 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)
Idioms 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).
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; Middle English waven (v.), Old English wafian to wave the hands; cognate with Middle High German waben; cf. waver1
1325–75; Middle English waven (v.), Old English wafian to wave the hands; cognate with Middle High German waben; cf. waver1
Related forms
wave·less, adjective
wave·less·ly, adverb
wav·ing·ly, adverb
wave·like, adjective
out·wave, verb (used with object), out·waved, out·wav·ing.
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.
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.
00:10
Waves
is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
| a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal. |
| a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare. |
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To waves
Collins
World English Dictionary
wave (weɪv) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to move or cause to move freely to and fro: the banner waved in the wind |
| 2. | (intr) to move the hand to and fro as a greeting |
| 3. | to signal or signify by or as if by waving something |
| 4. | (tr) to direct to move by or as if by waving something: he waved me on |
| 5. | to form or be formed into curves, undulations, etc |
| 6. | (tr) to give a wavy or watered appearance to (silk, etc) |
| 7. | (tr) to set waves in (the hair) |
| —n | |
| 8. | one of a sequence of ridges or undulations that moves across the surface of a body of a liquid, esp the sea: created by the wind or a moving object and gravity |
| 9. | any undulation on or at the edge of a surface reminiscent of such a wave: a wave across the field of corn |
| 10. | the waves the sea |
| 11. | anything that suggests the movement of a wave, as by a sudden rise: a crime wave |
| 12. | a widespread movement that advances in a body: a wave of settlers swept into the country |
| 13. | the act or an instance of waving |
| 14. | physics antinode longitudinal wave node standing wave See also transverse wave an oscillation propagated through a medium or space such that energy is periodically interchanged between two kinds of disturbance. For example, an oscillating electric field generates a magnetic oscillation and vice versa, hence an electromagnetic wave is produced. Similarly a wave on a liquid comprises vertical and horizontal displacements |
| 15. | physics a graphical representation of a wave obtained by plotting the magnitude of the disturbance against time at a particular point in the medium or space; waveform |
| 16. | a prolonged spell of some weather condition: a heat wave |
| 17. | an undulating curve or series of curves or loose curls in the hair |
| 18. | an undulating pattern or finish on a fabric |
| 19. | short for wave moth |
| 20. | make waves to cause trouble; disturb the status quo |
| 21. | slang (US) ride the wave to enjoy a period of success and good fortune |
| [Old English wafian (vb); related to Old High German weban to | |
| 'waveless | |
| —adj | |
| 'wavelike | |
| —adj | |
| WAVES or Waves (weɪvz) | |
| —n acronym for | |
| Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; the women's reserve of the US navy | |
| Waves or Waves | |
| —n acronym for | |
| WAVES or Waves (weɪvz) | |
| —n acronym for | |
| Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; the women's reserve of the US navy | |
| Waves or Waves | |
| —n acronym for | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
wave
"move back and forth," O.E. wafian "to wave with the hands" (related to wæfre "wavering, restless"), from P.Gmc. *wab- (cf. O.N. vafra "to hover about," M.H.G. waben "to wave, undulate"), from PIE base *webh- "to move to and fro, to weave" (see weave). Meaning "to make
a sign by a wave of the hand" is from 1513.
wave
"moving billow of water," 1526, from wave (v.), replacing M.E. waw, which is from O.E. wagian "to move to and fro" (cf. O.S., O.H.G. wag, O.Fris. weg, O.N. vagr "water in motion, wave, billow," Goth. wegs "tempest;" see wag (v.)). The usual O.E. word
for "moving billow of water" was yð. The "hand motion" meaning is recorded from 1688; meaning "undulating line" is recorded from 1662. Of people in masses, first recorded 1852; in physics, from 1832. Sense in heat wave is from 1843. The crowd stunt in stadiums is attested under this name from 1984, the thing itself said to have been done first Oct. 15, 1981, at the Yankees-A's AL championship series game in the Oakland Coliseum; soon picked up and popularized at University of Washington. To make waves "cause trouble" is attested from 1962. Wavy is recorded from c.1586.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary
wave (wāv)
n.
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 that is representative of such a disturbance.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
wave  (wāv) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) 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. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
wave definition
In physics, any regularly recurring event, such as surf coming in toward a beach, that can be thought of as a disturbance moving through a medium. Waves are characterized by wavelength, frequency, and the speed at which they move. Waves are found in many forms.
Note: The motion of a wave and the motion of the medium on which the wave moves are not the same: ocean waves, for example, move toward the beach, but the water itself merely moves up and down. Sound waves are spread by alternating compression and expansion of air.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
| WAVES Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service |
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences from the web
Their eyes glanced level, and were fastened upon the waves that swept toward them.
She yells at him, and he waves back and tells her to get everyone off the barge.
They do not ride bow waves, and in some areas appear to be shy of boats.
It tends to be the highest in amplitude and the slowest waves.
Nearby Words
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