Search results for 'wave':

wave verb (waved, waving) 1 intrans to move (one's hand) to and fro in greeting, farewell or as a signal. 2 to hold up and move (some other object) in this way for this purpose. 3 to say (especially goodbye) in this way. 4 tr & intr to move or make something move or sway to and fro. 5 (especially wave someone on or through) to direct them with a gesture of the hand. 6 intrans said of hair: to have a gentle curl or curls. 7 to put a gentle curl into (hair) by artificial means. noun 1 a any of a series of moving ridges on the surface of the sea or some other body of water; b such a ridge as it arches and breaks on the shore, etc. 2 an act of waving the hand, etc. 3 physics a regularly repeated disturbance or displacement in a medium eg water or air. 4 any of the circles of disturbance moving outwards from the site of a shock, such as an earthquake. 5 a loose soft curl, or series of such curls, in the hair. 6 a surge or sudden feeling of an emotion or a physical symptom. 7 a sudden increase in something • a crime wave • a heat wave. 8 an advancing body of people. 9 any of a series of curves in an upward-and-downward curving line or outline. waved adj. make waves to create a disturbance or cause trouble, etc; to aggravate a situation.
ETYMOLOGY: Anglo-Saxon wafian to wave.