new wave

noun

variants often New Wave

1

: a cinematic movement that is characterized by improvisation, abstraction, and subjective symbolism and that often makes use of experimental photographic techniques

2

: a new movement in a particular field

3

: popular music less raw than punk rock and typically including unconventional melodies, exaggerated beats, and quirky lyrics

4

: dernier cri

especially : fashion that is strikingly outrageous

new-wave

ˈnü-ˈwāv 

ˈnyü-, 

-ˌwāv

adjective

new waver

ˈnü-ˈwā-vər 

ˈnyü-

noun

Examples of new wave in a Sentence

people who listened to punk, New Wave, or disco

Recent Examples on the Web

So a new wave of foreign coaches made their way across the Atlantic, most notably, Italian Carlo Fassi, a bronze medalist at the 1953 World Championships in Davos, Switzerland, who was now Fleming’s new coach. — Emile Nuh, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026

This week, Al sits down with the Detroit rapper who’s part of a new wave of Christian-esque rappers wanting to be light in the dark. — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 31 July 2026

On the other hand, there are surfers who sacrifice most everything else to travel all over Earth looking for new experiences, new waves to ride. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 31 July 2026

But Exxon and Chevron contend more oil sources are needed longer term as existing volumes are depleted, necessitating a new wave of investments in global, frontier oil and gas exploration. — Jordan Blum, Fortune, 31 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for new wave

• agave
• behave
• concave
• conclave
• enclave
• engrave
• enslave
• forgave
• landgrave
• margrave
• shortwave
• aftershave