What does "wave" mean?
A moving disturbance in the level of a body of liquid; an undulation.
Wave
/weɪv/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A moving disturbance in the level of a body of liquid; an undulation.
- Grammar: wave is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: accost, address, advertise, affect.
- Useful contrasts: calm water, corpuscle, corpuscles.
- Usage evidence: The earthquake created a tremendous sea wave.
How to use "wave"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "wave" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "wave" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "wave" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "wave" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "wave" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "accost" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
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Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "wave", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A moving disturbance in the level of a body of liquid; an undulation.
"The wave traveled from the center of the lake before breaking on the shore."
- 2 A members of the WAVES; a member of the US Naval Reserve (Women's Reserve). US, historical
"[H]e read the faded sticker on the crystal of the door, “A slip of the lip can sink a ship.” Below a WAVE held her finger to lips that had turned tan."
- 3 a movement like that of a sudden occurrence or increase in a specified phenomenon wordnet
- 4 The ocean. poetic
"1895, Fiona Macleod (William Sharp), The Sin-Eater and Other Tales […] your father Murtagh Ross, and his lawful childless wife, Dionaid, and his sister Anna—one and all, they lie beneath the green wave or in the brown mould."
- 5 a hairdo that creates undulations in the hair wordnet
Show 16 more definitions
- 6 A moving disturbance in the energy level of a field.
"Gravity waves, while predicted by theory for decades, have been notoriously difficult to detect."
- 7 the act of signaling by a movement of the hand wordnet
- 8 A shape that alternatingly curves in opposite directions.
"Her hair had a nice wave to it."
- 9 (physics) a movement up and down or back and forth wordnet
- 10 Any of a number of species of moths in the geometrid subfamily Sterrhinae, which have wavy markings on the wings.
- 11 one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water) wordnet
- 12 A loose back-and-forth movement, as of the hands.
"He dismissed her with a wave of the hand."
- 13 something that rises rapidly wordnet
- 14 A sudden, but temporary, uptick in something. figuratively
"A wave of shoppers stampeded through the door when the store opened for its Christmas discount special."
- 15 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 wordnet
- 16 Any of a series of orders to be fulfilled in one short interval of time, planned as part of wave picking.
- 17 a persistent and widespread unusual weather condition (especially of unusual temperatures) wordnet
- 18 A movement or trend in popular culture. figuratively
"New Wave"
- 19 an undulating curve wordnet
- 20 One of the successive swarms of enemies sent to attack the player in certain games. broadly
"As the player eliminates each wave of 55 aliens, the next wave begins lower than the one previous."
- 21 A group activity in a crowd imitating a wave going through water, where people in successive parts of the crowd stand and stretch upward, then sit.
Verb
- 1 To move back and forth repeatedly and somewhat loosely. intransitive
"The flag waved in the gentle breeze."
- 2 To generate a wave.
"If the electron had wavelike properties, then what was disturbing the medium in which the wave existed? What was waving?"
- 3 Obsolete spelling of waive. alt-of, obsolete
"Ladies and gentlemen—I am ordered by Miss Woodhouse to say, that she waves her right of knowing exactly what you may all be thinking of, and only requires something very entertaining from each of you, in a general way."
- 4 set waves in wordnet
- 5 To move one's hand back and forth (generally above the shoulders) in greeting or departure. intransitive
"I raised my arms in a final salute. I smiled. I waved goodbye. I turned into the helicopter, the door was closed, the red carpet was rolled up."
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 signal with the hands or nod wordnet
- 7 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. metonymically, transitive
"I waved goodbye from across the room."
- 8 twist or roll into coils or ringlets wordnet
- 9 To have an undulating or wavy form. intransitive
- 10 move or swing back and forth wordnet
- 11 To raise into inequalities of surface; to give an undulating form or surface to. transitive
"horns whelked and waved like the enridged sea"
- 12 move in a wavy pattern or with a rising and falling motion wordnet
- 13 To style (the hair) so as to produce a wavy texture. transitive
"There was also hairdressing: hairdressing, too, really was hairdressing in those times — no running a comb through it and that was that. It was curled, frizzed, waved, put in curlers overnight, waved with hot tongs;[…]."
- 14 To swing and miss at a pitch. intransitive
"Jones waves at strike one."
- 15 To cause to move back and forth repeatedly. transitive
"The starter waved the flag to begin the race."
- 16 To signal (someone or something) with a waving movement. metonymically, transitive
- 17 To fluctuate; to waver; to be in an unsettled state. intransitive, obsolete
"He waved indifferently 'twixt doing them neither good nor harm."
- 18 To move like a wave, or by floating; to waft. ergative, intransitive
"But in the last, this dotted line, by the twisting as well as the bending of the horn, is changed from the waving into the serpentine line"
Antonyms
Example
"The earthquake created a tremendous sea wave."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "wave"?
Common synonyms include: accost, address, advertise, affect, afro, air.
How do you use "wave" in a sentence?
The earthquake created a tremendous sea wave.
How do you pronounce "wave"?
Pronounced /weɪv/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English waven, from Old English wafian (“to wave, fluctuate, waver in mind, wonder”), from Proto-West Germanic *wabōn, from Proto-Germanic *wabōną, *wabjaną (“to wander, sway”), from Proto-Indo-European *webʰ- (“to move to and from, wander”). Cognate with Middle High German waben (“to wave”), German wabern (“to waft”), Icelandic váfa (“to fluctuate, waver, doubt”). See also waver.
Etymology 2
From Middle English *wave, partially from waven (“to fluctuate, wave”) (see above) and partially from Middle English wawe, waghe (“wave”), from Old English wǣg (“a wave, billow, motion, water, flood, sea”), from Proto-Germanic *wēgaz (“motion, storm, wave”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ- (“to drag, carry”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian waag (“wave”), West Frisian weach (“wave”), Dutch waag (“wave”), German Woge, Wooge (“wave”), Danish vove, våg (“wave”), Faroese vágur (“bay”), Icelandic vogur (“bay”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk and Swedish våg (“wave”), Gothic 𐍅𐌴𐌲𐍃 (wēgs, “wave”), French vague (“wave”) (from Old Norse vágr (“ocean, sea; wave”)). See also waw.
Etymology 3
See waive.