(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.