/ weɪv; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
OF WATER
1.
[ C ] a raised line of water that moves across the surface of the sea, ocean, etc. :
Huge waves were breaking on the shore.
Surfers flocked to the beach to ride the waves .
the gentle sound of waves lapping
Children were playing in the waves .
Seagulls bobbed on the waves .
The wind made little waves on the pond.
—see also tidal wave
OF ACTIVITY / FEELING
2.
[ C ] a sudden increase in a particular activity or feeling :
a wave of opposition / protest / violence, etc.
a crime wave
A wave of fear swept over him.
Guilt and horror flooded her in waves .
A wave of panic spread through the crowd.
—see also brainwave , heatwave
LARGE NUMBER
3.
[ C ] a large number of people or things suddenly moving or appearing somewhere :
Wave after wave of aircraft passed overhead.
—see also new wave
MOVEMENT OF ARM / HAND / BODY
4.
[ C ] a movement of your arm and hand from side to side :
She declined the offer with a wave of her hand.
He gave us a wave as the bus drove off.
5.
the wave [ sing. ] ( NAmE ) = Mexican wave
OF HEAT / SOUND / LIGHT
6.
[ C ] the form that some types of energy such as heat, sound, light, etc. take as they move :
radio / sound / ultrasonic waves
—see also airwaves , long wave , medium wave , microwave , shock wave , short wave , sound wave
IN HAIR
7.
[ C ] if a person's hair has a wave or waves , it is not straight but curls slightly
—see also permanent wave
SEA
8.
the waves [ pl. ] ( literary ) the sea
—see also wavy
•
IDIOMS
- make waves
—more at crest noun , ride verb
■ verb
MOVE HAND / ARM
1.
wave (at / to sb) | wave sth (at sb) | wave sth (about / around) to move your hand or arm from side to side in the air in order to attract attention, say hello, etc. :
[ v ]
The people on the bus waved and we waved back.
Why did you wave at him?
[ vn ]
A man in the water was shouting and waving his arms around frantically.
[ vnn , vn ]
My mother was crying as I waved her goodbye .
My mother was crying as I waved goodbye to her.
2.
[+ adv. / prep. ] to show where sth is, show sb where to go, etc. by moving your hand in a particular direction :
[ v ]
She waved vaguely in the direction of the house.
[ vn ]
'He's over there,' said Ali, waving a hand towards some trees.
I showed my pass to the security guard and he waved me through.
3.
[ vn , usually + adv. / prep. ] to hold sth in your hand and move it from side to side :
Crowds lined the route, waving flags and cheering.
'I'm rich!' she exclaimed, waving the money under his nose.
MOVE FREELY
4.
[ v ] to move freely and gently, for example in the wind, while one end or side is held in position :
The flag waved in the breeze.
HAIR
5.
[ v ] to curl slightly :
His hair waves naturally.
6.
[ vn ] to make sb's hair curl slightly :
She's had her hair waved.
•
IDIOMS
- like waving a red flag in front of a bull
—more at flag noun
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- wave sth aside / away
- wave sth/sb down
- wave sb off
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English wafian (verb), from the Germanic base of waver ; the noun by alteration (influenced by the verb) of Middle English wawe (sea) wave .