Meaning

(intransitive) To move back and forth repeatedly and somewhat loosely..

Definitions by Sense

1. (intransitive) To move back and forth repeatedly and somewhat loosely.
2. (intransitive) To move one's hand back and forth (generally above the shoulders) in greeting or departure.
3. (transitive, metonymic) 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.
4. (intransitive) To have an undulating or wavy form.
5. (transitive) To raise into inequalities of surface; to give an undulating form or surface to.
6. (transitive) To style (the hair) so as to produce a wavy texture.
7. (intransitive, baseball) To swing and miss at a pitch.
8. (transitive) To cause to move back and forth repeatedly.

Example Sentences

The flag waved in the gentle breeze.

But the World Cup winning veteran's left boot was awry again, the attempt sliced horribly wide of the left upright, and the saltires were waving aloft again a moment later when a long pass in the England midfield was picked off to almost offer up a breakaway try.

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.

I waved goodbye from across the room.

Look, with what courteous action / It waves you to a more removed ground.

She spoke, and bowing waved / Dismissal.

horns whelked and waved like the enridged sea

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;[…].

Word Forms

• waves
• waving
• waved

Synonyms for wave

Related Words

When Should You Use Wave?

Use wave when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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