wave

verb

• 1 [no object] move one’s hand to and fro in greeting or as a signal:he waved to me from the train
• [with object] move (one’s hand or arm, or something held in one’s hand) to and fro:he waved a sheaf of papers in the air
• [with object] convey (a greeting or other message) by waving one’s hand or something held in it:we waved our farewells [with two objects]:she waved him goodbye
• [with object and adverbial of direction] instruct (someone) to move in a particular direction by moving one’s hand:he waved her back

• 2 [no object] move to and fro with a swaying motion while remaining fixed to one point:the flag waved in the wind

• 3 [with object] style (hair) so that it curls slightly:her hair had been carefully waved for the evening
• [no object] (of hair) grow with a slight curl: (as adjective waving)thick, waving grey hair sprouted back from his forehead

noun

• 1a long body of water curling into an arched form and breaking on the shore:he was swept out to sea by a freak wave
• a ridge of water between two depressions in open water:gulls and cormorants bobbed on the waves
• a shape regarded as resembling a breaking wave:a wave of treetops stretched to the horizon
• (the waves) literary the sea.

• 2a sudden occurrence of or increase in a phenomenon, feeling, or emotion:a wave of strikes had paralysed the government fear came over me in waves

• 3a gesture or signal made by moving one’s hand to and fro:he gave a little wave and walked off

• 4a slightly curling lock of hair:his hair was drying in unruly waves
• [in singular] a tendency to curl in a person’s hair:her hair has a slight natural wave

• 5 Physics a periodic disturbance of the particles of a substance which may be propagated without net movement of the particles, such as in the passage of undulating motion, heat, or sound. See also standing wave and travelling wave.
• a single curve in the course of a periodic disturbance of the particles of a substance.
• a periodic variation of an electromagnetic field in the propagation of light or other radiation through a medium or vacuum.