26984 words

wave

21 definitions • 30 examples
1
to raise your hand and move it from side to side as a way of greeting someone, telling someone to do something, or adding emphasis to an expression:

Examples:

wave to/at I waved to/at him from the window but he didn't see me.
I was waving my hand like mad but he never once looked in my direction.
She was so annoyed she wouldn't even wave us goodbye/wave goodbye to us.
wave your hand about/around She waves her hands about/around a lot when she's talking.
2
to make a movement with your hand that tells someone or something to move in a particular direction:

Examples:

You'll have to wait till the policeman waves the car on.
3
to move from side to side, or to make something move like this while holding it in the hand:

Examples:

The corn waved gently in the summer breeze.
A crowd of people ran down the street waving banners.
He seems to think I can wave a magic wand and everything will be all right.
4

Examples:

If she leaves her hair to dry on its own, it just waves naturally.
5
a raised line of water that moves across the surface of an area of water, especially the sea:

Examples:

wave breaks/crashes At night, I listened to the sound of the waves breaking/crashing against the shore.
6
the action of raising your hand and moving it from side to side as a way of greeting someone, etc.:

Examples:

give (someone) a wave We gave Grandpa a wave from the window.
7
a wave-like movement made by a crowd watching a sports game, when everyone stands and lifts up their arms and then sits down again one after another:

Examples:

The crowd did the Wave.
8
the pattern in which some types of energy, such as sound, light, and heat, are spread or carried:

Examples:

9
a larger than usual number of events of a similar, often bad, type, happening within the same period:

Examples:

a crime wave
wave of The country was swept by a wave of protests.
10
a number of events of a particular type that happen again or are repeated after a pause:

Examples:

A new wave of job losses is expected this year.
11
a sudden strong feeling that gets stronger as it spreads:

Examples:

wave of A wave of panic swept through the crowd.
12
a series of slight curves in a person's hair:

Examples:

Your hair has a natural wave, but mine's just straight.
13
to raise your hand and move it from side to side as a greeting, or to get someone's attention or give information:

Examples:

[ I ] She leaned out the window and waved (good-bye).
[ M ] As soon as we showed our papers as journalists, the policeman waved us in (= moved his hand to allow us to go in).
14
If you wave something or something waves, you move it from side to side while holding it in the hand, or something else moves it in this way:

Examples:

[ T ] He was very excited and rushed into the room waving a piece of paper.
[ I ] Flags waved in the breeze.
15
a raised movement of water rolling across the surface esp. of the sea:

Examples:

We were so close we could hear the waves breaking on the beach.
16
A wave is also a sudden increase in an activity or in the strength of a condition or feeling:

Examples:

A wave of emotion swept through her as she visited her home town.
17
the continuous, repeating pattern in which some types of energy, such as sound, light, and heat, are spread or carried:
18
a movement of your raised hand from side to side or up and down as a greeting or goodbye, or to get someone's attention or give information:

Examples:

She looked at him for a long time, and then, with a wave of her hand, she was off.
19
a larger than usual number of events of a similar, often bad, type, happening within the same period:

Examples:

a wave of sth During the recession there was a wave of bankruptcies and mass unemployment.
a crime wave
20
the pattern in which some types of energy, such as sound, light, and heat, are spread or carried:

Examples:

21
to do things that make people notice you, often in a way that causes trouble:

Examples:

Sometimes, an employee feels intimidated by workplace bullying, but, they don't want to make waves.

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