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wax

[waks]

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noun

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.

any of various similar substances, as spermaceti or the secretions of certain insects and plants. Compare vegetable wax, wax insect.

any of a group of substances composed of hydrocarbons, alcohols, fatty acids, and esters that are solid at ordinary temperatures.

cerumen; earwax.

a resinous substance used by shoemakers for rubbing thread.

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sealing wax.

a person or object suggesting wax, as in manageability or malleability: I am helpless wax in your hands.

COLLAPSE

verb (used with object)

to rub, smear, stiffen, polish, etc., with wax: to wax the floor.

to fill the crevices of (ornamental marble) with colored material.

10.

bikini wax.

11.

Informal. to make a phonograph recording of.

12.

Slang. to defeat decisively; drub: We waxed the competition.

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Wax is one of our favorite verbs.

So is fletcherise. Does it mean:

to chew (food) slowly and thoroughly.

to flee; abscond:

LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

adjective

13.

pertaining to, made of, or resembling wax: a wax candle; a wax doll.

Idiom

14.

whole ball of wax, Slang.

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.

everything of a similar or related nature: They sold us skis, boots, bindings, poles—the whole ball of wax.

Origin:
before 900; (noun) Middle English wex, waxe, Old English weax; cognate with Dutch was, German Wachs, Old Norse vax; (v.) Middle English wexen, derivative of the noun

Related forms

wax·a·ble, adjective

wax·like, adjective

Example Sentences

Candles are light sources made from wax with a wick in the middle.

The wraps for the cookies were made with soy wax, not petroleum wax.

The author of a book on how civilizations wax and wane, and why future generations everywhere will be wealthier.

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Candles are light sources made from wax with a wick in the middle.

The wraps for the cookies were made with soy wax, not petroleum wax.

The author of a book on how civilizations wax and wane, and why future generations everywhere will be wealthier.

Heat the oils and beeswax until they warm and the wax melts.

To save wax you'll inevitably end with six-sided hexagonal cells.

Babybel cheeses come individually wrapped in wax and plastic, making them more durable than larger hunks of cheese.

Give used candy or mint tins a second life with a bit of melted wax and a fresh wick.

Weave any remaining loose ends together, trim off the excess and bind them together with not melt glue or wax.

If you can easily see and retrieve ear wax in older children, do so carefully.

The issue of if there is a linear transformation between test score and intellignece is a different ball of wax.

The students' task was to attach the candle to a wall so that it burned properly and did not drip wax on the table or the floor.

Salt air blends with the scent of hot wax emanating from the batik-maker's shop, little more than a beachside shack.

The wax takes on the shape produced from the three nuclei orbits of the water nucleus.

Roundish fruit is covered with white wax-the bayberry wax used for candles.

And alas, the macks lost their stacks and stopped pressing wax.

Over the years, the slate tile floor in our entrance hall has been washed with warm water and polished with a liquid wax.

My job in higher education is to educate my students, not to wax political.

His latest survey is rich in examples of how its ideas and instincts wax and wane in practice.

The sun's energy output varies slightly as sunspots wax and wane on the star's surface.

Greatness, on the other hand, is a whole other ball of wax.

Then glue the metal top to the plywood, sand and wax it, and add a set of ready-made legs.

When a waxed floor looks dirty and yellow, it is time to remove the wax.

The wax lessens the friction, or rubbing, between ski and snow.

Many books wax eloquent about planetary exploration.

Tender, mild-flavored yellow wax beans bring premium prices at the market.

The shop sells little disks, called bobeches, that catch the overflow of wax.

So they don't worry about it as much, and are repelled by politicians who wax sanctimonious about it.

They apply the design to cotton, using copper stamps and melted wax.

What is called evaporation leaves an empty six pole or six sided wax structure.

The name refers to the female's powdery wax coating, a shield that prevents insecticides from penetrating.

The researchers said the cinnamon wax paper was safe and environmentally friendly.

French-speakers around the world wax eloquent on the international day of la francophonie.

With your hands, roll the cool clay into a ball, then flatten the ball on the wax paper.

As symptoms wax and wane, discipline and engagement can fluctuate, leaving children in less-stable environments.

Now in my defense, perhaps the wax moth larvae were already on the unguarded, bear-pawed frames.

He certainly has not explained why his administration's interest in the subject seems to wax and wane at random.

Knead the dough with your hands for a few minutes, then use a rolling pin to roll it out on a wax paper-covered surface.

Whereas the peaks of the bumps appear smooth and naked, their sides and valleys are textured and coated in wax.

Royalty, celebrity and criminality were the great wax subjects.

The protracted episode illustrates how public health scares wax and wane.

Drop glops onto a baking sheet or plate lined with wax paper and allow to cool.

Some such cancers run indolent courses that wax and wane over years.

Amongst the various items was found an old wooden box, sealed with rusty nails, string and sealing wax.

Bundles of cotton, silk, or wool are either tied or painted with wax according to predetermined patterns.

Meteorologists think hurricane cycles wax and wane over several decades.

The best tasting insect, though, is said to be the wax worm.

Don't head to the mountain without a fresh coat of wax.

He then mixed in candle wax with the coffee grounds, added some animal feed binder, and used a car jack to compress the logs.

Drain, cool, and put the pieces between two pieces of cellophane or wax paper.

Ear wax protects the ear by trapping dust, bacteria.

He once scribbled a note on one of his sketches to make a small wax version of one of his drawings of a horse.

They'd write something on the wooden back of a wax tablet.

They don't usually wax enthusiastic about collaborative recall, collective memory, or.

Some stand a metre and a half from base to wick, their white paraffin wax decorated.

Have him wear a rubber glove in case the wax splashes.

Do not wax sealed surfaces unless the directions on the sealer specify that.

Use a light wax lubricant or lithium grease on the cables.

Wax also talks to ordinary women about their lives.

On wax paper, roll the dough into a long, thin rounded.

The extra speed provided by ski wax comes at a cost--perfluorochemicals.

Cylindrical pale green stems are covered with wax used commercially in making candles.

It takes me back to times of handwritten letters, sealed closed with a drop of wax.

Viewing the past through the lense of the present affords many opportunities to wax morally superior to one's ancestors.

The answer appears to let your ear-holes wax up a bit and then the rubber coated buds slide in and stick.

Like the other artists, she considers her job at the wax museum a continuation of the work she was trained to.

First, an object is carved, usually from wax or clay.

It may be strange to wax rhapsodic about a game that revels in the annoyances of logging on in a pre-web world.

Line pan with wax paper or baking parchment, allowing paper to overhang.

The inhibition is only temporary, because the electrical activities of all the neurons have natural cycles that wax and wane.

The birds produce a special wax that helps to keep their feathers healthy.

Simon turned his back on wax fruit, metaphorical or otherwise.

Line the bottom of the pan with wax paper, allowing it to.

Too many commentators naively suppose that all dimensions of inequality wax and wane together, but it is not so.

Freshly made preserves were stored in the jars under wax lids and kept in a cool place.

Hoya subquintuplinervis-the wax plant-is a popular houseplant and garden ornament, with its scented five-petal flower clusters.

Some might wax poetic and say there are monsters in the air.

Melted candle wax crusted the bedrock on either side of the opening.

Melt wax and chocolate chips together in a double boiler.

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged

verb (used without object), waxed; waxed or (Literary) wax·en; wax·ing.

to increase in extent, quantity, intensity, power, etc.: Discord waxed at an alarming rate.

(of the moon) to increase in the extent of its illuminated portion before the full moon. Compare wane (def. 4).

to grow or become: He waxed angry at the insinuation.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English waxen, Old English weaxan; cognate with German wachsen; akin to waist

Synonyms
1. extend, grow, lengthen, enlarge, dilate.

noun Chiefly British.

a fit of anger; rage.

Origin:
1850–55; perhaps special use of wax²

Link To wax

Collins

World English Dictionary

wax¹ (wæks)

—n

—vb
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.	beeswax short for sealing wax
4.	physiol another name for cerumen
5.	a resinous preparation used by shoemakers to rub on thread
6.	bone wax 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
10.	(tr) to coat, polish, etc, with wax
11.	to remove (body hair) by means of a wax treatment

[Old English weax, related to Old Saxon, Old High German wahs, Old Norse vax]

'waxer¹

—n

'waxlike¹

—*adj*

wax² (wæks)

—vb
1.	to become larger, more powerful, etc
2.	Compare wane (of the moon) to show a gradually increasing portion of illuminated surface, between new moon and full moon
3.	archaic to become as specified: the time waxed late

[Old English weaxan; related to Old Frisian waxa, Old Saxon, Old High German wahsan, Gothic wahsjan]

wax³ (wæks)

—n
	informal, old-fashioned (Brit) a fit of rage or temper: he's in a wax today

[of obscure origin; perhaps from the phrase to wax angry]

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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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

wax

"substance made by bees," O.E. weax, from P.Gmc. *wakhsan (cf. O.S., O.H.G. wahs, O.N. vax, Du. was, Ger. Wachs); cognate with O.C.S. vasku, Lith. vakas, Pol. wosk, Rus. vosk "wax" (but these may be from Gmc.). Waxworks "exhibition of wax figures representing famous or notorious persons" first recorded

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1796.

wax

"grow bigger or greater," O.E. weaxan "to increase, grow" (class VII strong verb; past tense weox, pp. weaxen), from P.Gmc. *wakhsan (cf. O.S., O.H.G. wahsan, O.N. vaxa, O.Fris. waxa, Du. wassen, Ger. wachsen, Goth. wahsjan "to grow, increase"), from PIE *wegs- (cf. Skt. vaksayati "cause to grow," Gk.

auxein "to increase"), extended form of base *aug- "to increase" (see augment). Strong conjugation archaic after 14c.

COLLAPSE

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

wax (wāks)
n.

Any of various natural, oily or greasy heat-sensitive substances, consisting of hydrocarbons or esters of fatty acids that are insoluble in water but soluble in most organic solvents.
Cerumen.
A solid plastic or pliable liquid substance, such as paraffin, originating from petroleum and found in rock layers and often used in medicinal preparations.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

wax (wāks) Pronunciation Key
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.

Slang Dictionary

wax definition

tv.
to beat or defeat someone; to assault someone. : The muggers waxed the vest and swiped his briefcase.
n.
a phonograph recording; a substance onto which a recording is put. (Never singular or plural. The oldest recordings were wax cylinders. The nickname survives.) : This is one of the finest pieces of music ever put on wax.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

Easton

Bible Dictionary