waxes

10 definitions • 8 examples

a solid substance containing a lot of fat that becomes soft and melts when warm:

She watched the wax as it dripped down the side of the candle.

the soft, yellowish substance inside your ears

to put a thin layer of wax on the surface of something, either to make it waterproof or to improve its appearance:

I've waxed the floor so it's rather slippery.

to remove hair from someone's body by covering it in a thin layer of warm wax that is then pulled off:

have something waxed She had her legs waxed.

When the moon waxes, it gradually appears larger and rounder each day.

to speak or write in the stated way:

My mother always used to wax lyrical about the lemon trees in her family's garden.

a solid, fatty substance that softens and melts at a low temperature:

Candle wax dripped on the tablecloth.

(of the moon) to gradually appear larger and increasingly round:

fig. Such controversies have waxed and waned (= become stronger and weaker) but continue to this day.

to become:

Brad waxed eloquent on the subject of free enterprise.

to put a thin layer of wax on the surface of something:

I just waxed the floor, so don’t go in there yet.