waved; waving
1
: to motion with the hands or with something held in them in signal or salute
2
: to float, play, or shake in an air current : move loosely to and fro : flutter
flags waving in the breeze
4
: to become moved or brandished to and fro
signs waved in the crowd
5
: to move before the wind with a wavelike motion
field of waving grain
6
: to follow a curving line or take a wavy form : undulate
1
: to swing (something) back and forth or up and down
2
: to impart a curving or undulating shape to
waved her hair
3
a
: to motion to (someone) to go in an indicated direction or to stop : signal
waved down a passing car
b
: to gesture with (the hand or an object) in greeting or farewell or in homage
c
: to dismiss or put out of mind : disregard
—usually used with aside or off
d
: to convey by waving
waved farewell
plural waves
1
a
: a moving ridge or swell on the surface of a liquid (as of the sea)
b
chiefly literary
: water, sea
… this our island in the wave …—
Charles Dickens
Charles DickensThe buccaneer on the wave might relinquish his calling and become … a man of probity and piety on land …—Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel HawthorneThe sea was open to them, and they achieved their victories on the briny wave.—The Book of Commerce by Sea and Land
The Book of Commerce by Sea and Land2
a
: a shape or outline having successive curves
b
: a waviness of the hair
c
: an undulating line or streak or a pattern formed by such lines
3
: something that swells and dies away: such as
a
: a surge of sensation or emotion
a wave of anger swept over her
b
: a movement sweeping large numbers in a common direction
waves of protest
c
: a peak or climax of activity or occurrence
a wave of spending
a second wave of infection
a crime wave
4
: a sweep of hand or arm or of some object held in the hand used as a signal or greeting
5
: a rolling or undulatory movement or one of a series of such movements passing along a surface or through the air
6
: a movement like that of an ocean wave: such as
a
: a surging movement of a group
a big new wave of women politicians
b
: one of a succession of influxes of people migrating into a region
c(1)
: a moving group of animals of one kind
(2)
: a sudden rapid increase in a population
d
: a line of attacking or advancing troops or airplanes
e
: a display of people in a large crowd (as at a sports event) successively rising, lifting their arms overhead, and quickly sitting so as to form a swell moving through the crowd
7
a
: a disturbance or variation that transfers energy progressively from point to point in a medium and that may take the form of an elastic deformation or of a variation of pressure, electric or magnetic intensity, electric potential, or temperature
b
: one complete cycle of such a disturbance
8
: a marked change in temperature : a period of hot or cold weather
9
: an undulating or jagged line constituting a graphic representation of an action
: a member of the women's component of the U.S. Navy formed during World War II and discontinued in the 1970s
Synonyms
Examples of wave in a Sentence
Verb
We waved to our friends through the window.
She was waving in the direction of the bridge.
Flags were waving in the breeze.
The magician waved his magic wand.
The leader of the parade waved a flag.
It was so hot that we were all waving our hands in front of our faces to cool off.
Noun (1)
The waves crashed onto the rocks.
She has a wave in her hair.
Waves of warm air washed over us.
We got a wave from the Queen.
The rabbit disappeared with a wave of the magician's wand.
Recent Examples on the WebLeigh-Ann Jackson, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
Former 5km world record-holder Robert Keter, also of Kenya, then appears to wave at He to overtake the pack while signaling for his compatriot and Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu to hang back.
—Andrew McNicol, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
The league’s 29 owners approved Fisher’s move to Las Vegas unanimously while waving a relocation fee that was expected to be roughly $1 billion.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 11 Apr. 2024
Motorists stop and wave as police cars pursue a white Ford Bronco, driven by Al Cowlings, carrying fugitive murder suspect O.J. Simpson, on a 90-minute slow-speed car chase June 17, 1994 on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
Many of us today wave our phones with Apple Pay or whatnot.
—Denise Snodell, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
Perhaps his most stinging rejoinder in the era of Donald Trump is Our Flag (2017), which depicts Old Glory waving in tatters.
—Michael Slenske, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
One caregiver jumped on the bed, another swung from the divider between the bedroom and the study, and Ram Dass waved his one mobile hand with bright eyes and a rascally smile.
—Christopher Fiorello, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
The video then switched to the father and daughter waving at the camera while sitting in a classic car.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
The new wave of rom-coms may date back to 2017, when Michael Showalter released The Big Sick and critics raved about the romantic comedy.
—Erin Carlson, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2024
The deployment of over 100 ballistic missiles in a single wave suggests that previous estimates that Iran has about 3,000 ballistic missiles stockpiled are probably accurate, and could even be on the low end.
—Nilo Tabrizy, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
News of the first wave of the Iranian attack on Saturday, consisting of 185 relatively slow drones, spread worldwide hours before any of them reached Israel.
—Richard Pérez-Peña, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
When news of Reena’s disappearance begins making waves across the island, the writer embarks on a quest to figure out what happened.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024
There are nearly six goals a game on average, and while Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are still producing, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Nathan MacKinnon are in their prime with another wave of talent led by the likes of Connor Bedard not far behind.
—Stephen Whyno, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024
The post received a wave of reactions in the comments, with multiple celebrities congratulating the couple.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
The much higher borrowing costs for individuals and companies that resulted from the Fed's rate increases were widely expected to trigger a recession, with waves of layoffs and a painful rise in unemployment.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 6 Apr. 2024
Verb
An estimated 1,400 attendees were at the main event at the school’s Cramton Auditorium, with many screaming and waving cardboard cutouts of the characters as the actors took the stage.
—Leigh-Ann Jackson, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
Former 5km world record-holder Robert Keter, also of Kenya, then appears to wave at He to overtake the pack while signaling for his compatriot and Ethiopia’s Dejene Hailu to hang back.
—Andrew McNicol, CNN, 15 Apr. 2024
The league’s 29 owners approved Fisher’s move to Las Vegas unanimously while waving a relocation fee that was expected to be roughly $1 billion.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 11 Apr. 2024
Motorists stop and wave as police cars pursue a white Ford Bronco, driven by Al Cowlings, carrying fugitive murder suspect O.J. Simpson, on a 90-minute slow-speed car chase June 17, 1994 on the 405 freeway in Los Angeles.
—CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
Many of us today wave our phones with Apple Pay or whatnot.
—Denise Snodell, Kansas City Star, 10 Apr. 2024
Perhaps his most stinging rejoinder in the era of Donald Trump is Our Flag (2017), which depicts Old Glory waving in tatters.
—Michael Slenske, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
One caregiver jumped on the bed, another swung from the divider between the bedroom and the study, and Ram Dass waved his one mobile hand with bright eyes and a rascally smile.
—Christopher Fiorello, The New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2024
The video then switched to the father and daughter waving at the camera while sitting in a classic car.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2024
Noun
The latest wave of actions Thursday by the United States and Iran come on the heels of Tehran's missile and drone attack on Israel last weekend.
—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
The new wave of rom-coms may date back to 2017, when Michael Showalter released The Big Sick and critics raved about the romantic comedy.
—Erin Carlson, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2024
The deployment of over 100 ballistic missiles in a single wave suggests that previous estimates that Iran has about 3,000 ballistic missiles stockpiled are probably accurate, and could even be on the low end.
—Nilo Tabrizy, Washington Post, 17 Apr. 2024
News of the first wave of the Iranian attack on Saturday, consisting of 185 relatively slow drones, spread worldwide hours before any of them reached Israel.
—Richard Pérez-Peña, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
When news of Reena’s disappearance begins making waves across the island, the writer embarks on a quest to figure out what happened.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 16 Apr. 2024
There are nearly six goals a game on average, and while Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are still producing, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Nathan MacKinnon are in their prime with another wave of talent led by the likes of Connor Bedard not far behind.
—Stephen Whyno, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024
The post received a wave of reactions in the comments, with multiple celebrities congratulating the couple.
—Laura Daniella Sepulveda, The Arizona Republic, 15 Apr. 2024
The much higher borrowing costs for individuals and companies that resulted from the Fed's rate increases were widely expected to trigger a recession, with waves of layoffs and a painful rise in unemployment.
—Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 6 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wave.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Wave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wave. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wave
1 of 3 verb
waved; waving
1
: to float or shake in an air current : flutter
flags waving in the breeze
2
: to signal or salute with the hand or with something held in it
3
: brandish
waved a pistol and made threats
4
: to move before the wind with a wavelike motion
a field of waving grain
5
: to follow or cause to follow a curving line or take a wavy form
waved her hair
wave
2 of 3 noun1
: a moving ridge on the surface of water
2
: a wavelike formation or shape
a wave in the hair
3
: the action or process of making wavy or curly
4
: a waving motion
a wave of the hand
5
: a steady flowing movement
a wave of color swept the speaker's face
6
: a sudden or rapid increase
a wave of buying
7
: a disturbance similar to a wave in water that transfers energy progressively from point to point
a light wave
8
: a period of hot or cold weather
Wave
3 of 3 noun
: a woman serving in the navy
Medical Definition
wave
noun1
a
: a disturbance or variation that transfers energy progressively from point to point in a medium and that may take the form of an elastic deformation or of a variation of pressure, electrical or magnetic intensity, electrical potential, or temperature
b
: one complete cycle of such a disturbance
2
: an undulating or jagged line constituting a graphic representation of an action
an electroencephalographic wave
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