(~s, waving, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
If you ~ or ~ your hand, you move your hand from side to side in the air, usually in order to say hello or goodbye to someone.
He ~d at the waiter, who rushed to the table...
He grinned, ~d, and said, ‘Hi!’...
Elaine turned and ~d her hand lazily and left.
VERB: V to/at n, V, V n, also V n prep
•
Wave is also a noun.
Steve stopped him with a ~ of the hand...
Paddy spotted Mary Ann and gave her a cheery ~.
N-COUNT: usu with supp
2.
If you ~ someone away or ~ them on, you make a movement with your hand to indicate that they should move in a particular direction.
Leshka ~d him away with a show of irritation...
VERB: V n adv/prep
3.
If you ~ something, you hold it up and move it rapidly from side to side.
Hospital staff were outside to welcome him, waving flags and applauding...
She was apt to raise her voice and ~ her hands about.
VERB: V n, V n adv/prep
-waving
Hundreds of banner-waving demonstrators took to the streets.
...a flag-waving crowd.
COMB in ADJ
-waving
There will be marching bands and plenty of flag-waving.
COMB in N-UNCOUNT
4.
If something ~s, it moves gently from side to side or up and down.
...grass and flowers waving in the wind.
= sway
VERB: V
5.
A ~ is a raised mass of water on the surface of water, especially the sea, which is caused by the wind or by tides making the surface of the water rise and fall.
...the sound of the ~s breaking on the shore.
N-COUNT
6.
If someone’s hair has ~s, it curves slightly instead of being straight.
N-COUNT
7.
A ~ is a sudden increase in heat or energy that spreads out from an earthquake or explosion.
The shock ~s of the earthquake were felt in Teheran...
N-COUNT: with supp
8.
Waves are the form in which things such as sound, light, and radio signals travel.
Sound ~s, light ~s, and radio ~s have a certain frequency, or number of ~s per second.
N-COUNT: usu pl, oft supp N
9.
If you refer to a ~ of a particular feeling, you mean that it increases quickly and becomes very intense, and then often decreases again.
She felt a ~ of panic, but forced herself to leave the room calmly...
N-COUNT: usu N of n
10.
A ~ is a sudden increase in a particular activity or type of behaviour, especially an undesirable or unpleasant one.
...the current ~ of violence.
...an even newer crime ~.
N-COUNT: usu N of n
11.
see also long ~ , medium ~ , Mexican ~ , new ~ , short-~ , tidal ~