Wave definitions

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

WAVE, n. [G.]
1. A moving swell or volume of water; usually, a swell raised and driven by wind. A pebble thrown into still water produces waves, which form concentric circles, receding from the point where the pebble fell. But waves are generally raised and driven by wind, and the word comprehends any moving swell on the surface of water, from the smallest ripple to the billows of a tempest.
The wave behind impels the wave before.
2. Unevenness; inequality of surface.
3. The line or streak of luster on cloth watered and calendered.
WAVE, v.i.
1. To play loosely; to move like a wave, one way and the other; to float; to undulate.
His purple robes wavd careless to the wind.
2. To be moved, as a signal.
3. To fluctuate; to waver; to be in an unsettled state.
WAVE, v.t. [See Waver.]
1. To raise into inequalities of surface.
2. To move one way and the other; to brandish; as, to wave the hand; to wave a sword.
3. To waft; to remove any thing floating.
4. To beckon; to direct by a waft or waving motion.
WAVE, v.t.
1. To put off; to cast off; to cast away; to reject; as, to wave good stolen; usually written waive.
2. To quit; to depart from.
He resolved not to wave his way.
3. To put off; to put aside for the present, or to omit to pursue; as, to wave a motion. He offered to wave the subject. [This is the usual sense.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water) [syn: wave, moving ridge]
2: a movement like that of a sudden occurrence or increase in a specified phenomenon; "a wave of settlers"; "troops advancing in waves"
3: (physics) a movement up and down or back and forth [syn: wave, undulation]
4: something that rises rapidly; "a wave of emotion swept over him"; "there was a sudden wave of buying before the market closed"; "a wave of conservatism in the country led by the hard right"
5: the act of signaling by a movement of the hand [syn: wave, waving, wafture]
6: a hairdo that creates undulations in the hair
7: an undulating curve [syn: wave, undulation]
8: a persistent and widespread unusual weather condition (especially of unusual temperatures); "a heat wave"
9: a member of the women's reserve of the United States Navy; originally organized during World War II but now no longer a separate branch v
1: signal with the hands or nod; "She waved to her friends"; "He waved his hand hospitably" [syn: beckon, wave]
2: move or swing back and forth; "She waved her gun" [syn: brandish, flourish, wave]
3: move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion; "The curtains undulated"; "the waves rolled towards the beach" [syn: roll, undulate, flap, wave]
4: twist or roll into coils or ringlets; "curl my hair, please" [syn: curl, wave]
5: set waves in; "she asked the hairdresser to wave her hair"

Merriam Webster's

noun Etymology: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service Date: 1942 a woman serving in the navy

Merriam Webster's

I. verb (waved; waving) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wafian to wave with the hands; akin to Old English wζfan to clothe and perhaps to Old English wefan to weave Date: before 12th century intransitive verb 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> 3. of water to move in waves ; heave 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 transitive verb 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 ; flag, signal <checked his name and waved him on> <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> 4. brandish, flourish <waved a pistol menacingly> Synonyms: see swing II. noun Date: 1526 1. a. a moving ridge or swell on the surface of a liquid (as of the sea) b. open water 2. 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: 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 <a wave of buying> 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: 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 • waveless adjective • wavelessly adverb • wavelike adjective

NOAA Weather Glossary

In meteorology any pattern identifiable on a weather map that has a cyclic pattern, or, a small cyclonic circulation in the early stages of development that moves along a cold front.

U.S. Military Dictionary

A formation of forces, including ships, craft, amphibious vehicles or aircraft, required to beach or land about the same time. Waves can be classified by function: scheduled, on-call, or non-scheduled. Waves can also be classified by type of craft, e.g., assault, helicopter, or landing craft. (JP 3-02)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. & n. --v. 1 a intr. (often foll. by to) move a hand etc. to and fro in greeting or as a signal (waved to me across the street). b tr. move (a hand etc.) in this way. 2 a intr. show a sinuous or sweeping motion as of a flag, tree, or a cornfield in the wind; flutter, undulate. b tr. impart a waving motion to. 3 tr. brandish (a sword etc.) as an encouragement to followers etc. 4 tr. tell or direct (a person) by waving (waved them away; waved them to follow). 5 tr. express (a greeting etc.) by waving (waved goodbye to them). 6 tr. give an undulating form to (hair, drawn lines, etc.); make wavy. 7 intr. (of hair etc.) have such a form; be wavy. --n. 1 a ridge of water between two depressions. 2 a long body of water curling into an arched form and breaking on the shore. 3 a thing compared to this, e.g. a body of persons in one of successive advancing groups. 4 a gesture of waving. 5 a the process of waving the hair. b an undulating form produced in the hair by waving. 6 a a temporary occurrence or increase of a condition, emotion, or influence (a wave of enthusiasm). b a specified period of widespread weather (heat wave). 7 Physics a the disturbance of the particles of a fluid medium to form ridges and troughs for the propagation or direction of motion, heat, light, sound, etc., without the advance of the particles. b a single curve in the course of this motion (see also standing wave, travelling wave (see TRAVEL)). 8 Electr. a similar variation of an electromagnetic field in the propagation of radiation through a medium or vacuum. 9 (in pl.; prec. by the) poet. the sea; water. Phrases and idioms: make waves colloq. cause trouble. wave aside dismiss as intrusive or irrelevant. wave down wave to (a vehicle or its driver) as a signal to stop. wave equation a differential equation expressing the properties of motion in waves. wave-form Physics a curve showing the shape of a wave at a given time. wave-front Physics a surface containing points affected in the same way by a wave at a given time. wave function a function satisfying a wave equation and describing the properties of a wave. wave mechanics a method of analysis of the behaviour esp. of atomic phenomena with particles represented by wave equations (see quantum mechanics). wave number Physics the number of waves in a unit distance. wave theory hist. the theory that light is propagated through the ether by a wave-motion imparted to the ether by the molecular vibrations of the radiant body. Derivatives: waveless adj. wavelike adj. & adv. Etymology: OE wafian (v.) f. Gmc: (n.) also alt. of ME wawe, wage

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Waive Waive, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Waived; p. pr. & vb. n. Waiving.] [OE. waiven, weiven, to set aside, remove, OF. weyver, quesver, to waive, of Scand. origin; cf. Icel. veifa to wave, to vibrate, akin to Skr. vip to tremble. Cf. Vibrate, Waif.] [Written also wave.] 1. To relinquish; to give up claim to; not to insist on or claim; to refuse; to forego. He waiveth milk, and flesh, and all. --Chaucer. We absolutely do renounce or waive our own opinions, absolutely yielding to the direction of others. --Barrow. 2. To throw away; to cast off; to reject; to desert. 3. (Law) (a) To throw away; to relinquish voluntarily, as a right which one may enforce if he chooses. (b) (O. Eng. Law) To desert; to abandon. --Burrill. Note: The term was applied to a woman, in the same sense as outlaw to a man. A woman could not be outlawed, in the proper sense of the word, because, according to Bracton, she was never in law, that is, in a frankpledge or decennary; but she might be waived, and held as abandoned. --Burrill.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wave Wave (w[=a]v), v. t. See Waive. --Sir H. Wotton. Burke.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wave Wave, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Waved (w[=a]vd); p. pr. & vb. n. Waving.] [OE. waven, AS. wafian to waver, to hesitate, to wonder; akin to w[ae]fre wavering, restless, MHG. wabern to be in motion, Icel. vafra to hover about; cf. Icel. v[=a]fa to vibrate. Cf. Waft, Waver.] 1. To play loosely; to move like a wave, one way and the other; to float; to flutter; to undulate. His purple robes waved careless to the winds. --Trumbull. Where the flags of three nations has successively waved. --Hawthorne. 2. To be moved to and fro as a signal. --B. Jonson. 3. To fluctuate; to waver; to be in an unsettled state; to vacillate. [Obs.] He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good nor harm. --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wave Wave, n. [From Wave, v.; not the same word as OE. wawe, waghe, a wave, which is akin to E. wag to move. [root]136. See Wave, v. i.] 1. An advancing ridge or swell on the surface of a liquid, as of the sea, resulting from the oscillatory motion of the particles composing it when disturbed by any force their position of rest; an undulation. The wave behind impels the wave before. --Pope. 2. (Physics) A vibration propagated from particle to particle through a body or elastic medium, as in the transmission of sound; an assemblage of vibrating molecules in all phases of a vibration, with no phase repeated; a wave of vibration; an undulation. See Undulation. 3. Water; a body of water. [Poetic] ``Deep drank Lord Marmion of the wave.'' --Sir W. Scott. Build a ship to save thee from the flood, I 'll furnish thee with fresh wave, bread, and wine. --Chapman. 4. Unevenness; inequality of surface. --Sir I. Newton. 5. A waving or undulating motion; a signal made with the hand, a flag, etc. 6. The undulating line or streak of luster on cloth watered, or calendered, or on damask steel. 7. Fig.: A swelling or excitement of thought, feeling, or energy; a tide; as, waves of enthusiasm. Wave front (Physics), the surface of initial displacement of the particles in a medium, as a wave of vibration advances. Wave length (Physics), the space, reckoned in the direction of propagation, occupied by a complete wave or undulation, as of light, sound, etc.; the distance from a point or phase in a wave to the nearest point at which the same phase occurs. Wave line (Shipbuilding), a line of a vessel's hull, shaped in accordance with the wave-line system. Wave-line system, Wave-line theory (Shipbuilding), a system or theory of designing the lines of a vessel, which takes into consideration the length and shape of a wave which travels at a certain speed. Wave loaf, a loaf for a wave offering. --Lev. viii. 27. Wave moth (Zo["o]l.), any one of numerous species of small geometrid moths belonging to Acidalia and allied genera; -- so called from the wavelike color markings on the wings. Wave offering, an offering made in the Jewish services by waving the object, as a loaf of bread, toward the four cardinal points. --Num. xviii. 11. Wave of vibration (Physics), a wave which consists in, or is occasioned by, the production and transmission of a vibratory state from particle to particle through a body. Wave surface. (a) (Physics) A surface of simultaneous and equal displacement of the particles composing a wave of vibration. (b) (Geom.) A mathematical surface of the fourth order which, upon certain hypotheses, is the locus of a wave surface of light in the interior of crystals. It is used in explaining the phenomena of double refraction. See under Refraction. Wave theory. (Physics) See Undulatory theory, under Undulatory.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wave Wave, v. t. 1. To move one way and the other; to brandish. ``[[AE]neas] waved his fatal sword.'' --Dryden. 2. To raise into inequalities of surface; to give an undulating form a surface to. Horns whelked and waved like the enridged sea. --Shak. 3. To move like a wave, or by floating; to waft. [Obs.] --Sir T. Browne. 4. To call attention to, or give a direction or command to, by a waving motion, as of the hand; to signify by waving; to beckon; to signal; to indicate. Look, with what courteous action It waves you to a more removed ground. --Shak. She spoke, and bowing waved Dismissal. --Tennyson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wave Wave, n. [See Woe.] Woe. [Obs.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Wave Wave, n. Something resembling or likened to a water wave, as in rising unusually high, in being of unusual extent, or in progressive motion; a swelling or excitement, as of feeling or energy; a tide; flood; period of intensity, usual activity, or the like; as, a wave of enthusiasm.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(waves, waving, waved) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. If you wave or wave your hand, you move your hand from side to side in the air, usually in order to say hello or goodbye to someone. He waved at the waiter, who rushed to the table... He grinned, waved, and said, 'Hi!'... Elaine turned and waved 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 wave of the hand... Paddy spotted Mary Ann and gave her a cheery wave. N-COUNT: usu with supp 2. If you wave someone away or wave them on, you make a movement with your hand to indicate that they should move in a particular direction. Leshka waved him away with a show of irritation... VERB: V n adv/prep 3. If you wave 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 wave 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 waves, it moves gently from side to side or up and down. ...grass and flowers waving in the wind. = sway VERB: V 5. A wave 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 waves breaking on the shore. N-COUNT 6. If someone's hair has waves, it curves slightly instead of being straight. N-COUNT 7. A wave is a sudden increase in heat or energy that spreads out from an earthquake or explosion. The shock waves 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 waves, light waves, and radio waves have a certain frequency, or number of waves per second. N-COUNT: usu pl, oft supp N 9. If you refer to a wave of a particular feeling, you mean that it increases quickly and becomes very intense, and then often decreases again. She felt a wave of panic, but forced herself to leave the room calmly... N-COUNT: usu N of n 10. A wave is a sudden increase in a particular activity or type of behaviour, especially an undesirable or unpleasant one. ...the current wave of violence. ...an even newer crime wave. N-COUNT: usu N of n 11. see also long wave, medium wave, Mexican wave, new wave, short-wave, tidal wave

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Undulation, billow, breaker, surge, swell, ripple. 2. Wave of vibration. 3. Water. 4. Unevenness, inequality of surface. II. v. n. 1. Undulate, float, play loosely, play to and fro. 2. Be moved (as a signal). III. v. a. 1. Brandish, flourish. 2. Beckon, signal. 3. Put off, cast off, cast away, reject. 4. Relinquish.

Moby Thesaurus

Afro, accost, address, advertise, affect, air, ambages, amplitude, anfractuosity, antinode, barber, be poised, beat, beat the drum, betoken, bicker, billow, blazon forth, bob, bobble, bore, bow, brandish, brandishing, break, breakers, breathe, bring forth, bring forward, bring into view, bring out, bring to notice, careen, chop, choppiness, chopping sea, circuitousness, circumambages, circumbendibus, circumlocution, circumvolution, coggle, coif, coiffure, cold wave, comb, comber, conk, convolution, crash, crest, crinkle, crinkling, curtsy, dance, dangle, dash, de Broglie wave, demonstrate, develop, diffraction, dip, dirty water, disclose, display, divulge, dramatize, eagre, ebb and flow, electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic wave, emblazon, embody, embrace, enact, evidence, evince, exchange colors, exhibit, expose to view, express, flag, flag down, flap, flash, flaunt, flaunting, flexuosity, flexuousness, flick, flicker, flip, flit, flitter, float, flop, flourish, flourishing, fluctuate, flutter, fly, frequency, frequency band, frequency spectrum, give a signal, give sign, give the nod, give token, glance, go pitapat, gravity wave, greeting, ground swell, guided wave, gutter, hail, hail and speak, haircut, hairdo, hairstyle, half-mast, hand-clasp, handshake, headdress, heave, heavy sea, heavy swell, hello, highlight, hoist a banner, hold up, home permanent, how-do-you-do, hug, illuminate, in phase, incarnate, indicate, interference, intorsion, involution, kick, kiss, leer, librate, lift, light, longitudinal wave, lop, lurch, make a sign, make clear, make plain, manifest, materialize, mean, meander, meandering, mechanical wave, natural, nod, node, nudge, nutate, oscillate, out of phase, palpitate, parade, peak, pendulate, perform, period, periodic wave, permanent, permanent wave, pitch, pitter-patter, poke, pompadour, popple, present, process, produce, pulse, put forth, put forward, radio wave, raise a cry, ray, reel, reinforcement, represent, resonance, resonance frequency, resonate, reveal, riffle, ripple, rise, rise and fall, rivulation, rock, roll, roll out, roller, rough water, salutation, salute, scend, sea, seismic wave, send, set forth, shake, shaking, shingle, shock wave, show, show forth, sign, signal, signalize, sinuation, sinuosity, sinuousness, slat, slinkiness, smash, smile, smile of recognition, snakiness, sound an alarm, sound the trumpet, sound wave, speak, splutter, sport, spotlight, sputter, surf, surface wave, surge, swag, sway, swell, swing, swinging, throb, tidal bore, tidal wave, tide wave, token, torsion, tortility, tortuosity, tortuousness, toss, touch, transverse wave, trim, trot out, trough, trumpet, trumpet forth, tsunami, turning, twisting, undulate, undulation, unfold, unfurl a flag, vacillate, vaunt, vibrate, wag, waggle, water wave, wave a flag, wave equation, wave motion, wave number, wave the hand, wavelength, wavelet, waver, waving, white horses, whitecaps, wield, wigwag, winding, wink, wobble