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

The ruling in allowed a new wave of outside spending to shape political races, and Republicans took advantage, capitalizing on the controversy surrounding President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act to fund winning campaigns. —Alex J. Rouhandeh, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 Nov. 2025

Growing number of older runners A new wave of older runners are racing. —Eleanor Yang Su, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Nov. 2025

Best new restaurants that opened in 2025 Every year brings a new wave of restaurants that help define or redefine the metro Phoenix food scene. —Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 25 Nov. 2025

The scientists believe the achievement could lead to ultra-sharp screens, advanced microscopes and new wave-optics applications enabled by the extremely small pixel size. —Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 24 Nov. 2025

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