wave
To raise your hand and move it from side to side as a way of greeting someone, telling them to do something or adding emphasis to an expression
Oxford Essential Dictionary
wave
verb (waves, waving, waved )
1 to move your hand from side to side in the air to say hello or goodbye, or to make a sign to somebody:
She waved to me as the train left the station.
Who are you waving at?
2 to move something quickly from side to side in the air:
The children waved flags as the President's car drove past.
3 to move up and down or from side to side:
The flags were waving in the wind.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
II. wave2 S3 W3 BrE AmE verb
[Language: Old English; Origin: wafian 'to wave with the hands']
1. HAND [intransitive and transitive] to raise your arm and move your hand from side to side in order to make someone notice you
wave to/at
She turned to wave to the approaching soldiers.
Enid waved at us and we waved back.
wave (somebody) goodbye (=say goodbye to someone by waving to them)
The nurses came out to wave Grandad goodbye.
2. MOVE [intransitive and transitive] if you wave something, or if it waves, it moves from side to side:
The starter waved a green flag to indicate that the race would begin.
a tree waving in the breeze
He waved a hand in the air to attract her attention.
wave something under/at etc somebody/something
Trudie waved a $50 bill under his nose.
wave something around/about
The stranger spoke rapidly, waving his arms around.
3. SIGNAL [transitive always + adverb/preposition] to show someone which way to go by waving your hand in that direction
wave somebody through/on/away etc
The border guards waved us through.
Peter waved them back to their seats.
4. wave something goodbye/wave goodbye to something informal to be forced to accept that something you want will not happen:
If you’re not careful, you can wave goodbye to any pay rise this year.
5. wave a magic wand to make a bad situation better, even though this is impossible:
I can’t wave a magic wand and change what happened.
6. HAIR [intransitive and transitive] if hair waves, or if it is waved, it forms loose curls
wave something ↔ aside phrasal verb
to ignore someone’s opinion or ideas because you do not think they are important:
He waved her protests aside.
wave somebody/something ↔ down phrasal verb
to signal to the driver of a car to stop by waving at them:
People in passing cars tried waving him down.
wave somebody off phrasal verb
to wave goodbye to someone as they leave:
Are you coming to the station to wave me off?
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
verb
MOVE HAND/ARM
1. intransitive, transitive to move your hand or arm from side to side in the air in order to attract attention, say hello, etc
• The people on the bus waved and we waved back.
• ~ at/to sb Why did you wave at him?
• ~ sth (about/around) A man in the water was shouting and waving his arms around frantically.
• ~ sth at sb She waved her hand dismissively at the housekeeper.
• ~ sb sth My mother was crying as I waved her goodbye.
• ~ sth to sb My mother was crying as I waved goodbye to her.
2. intransitive, transitive to show where sth is, show sb where to go, etc. by moving your hand in a particular direction
• + adv./prep. She waved vaguely in the direction of the house.
• ~ sth/sb + adv./prep. ‘He's over there,’ said Ali, waving a hand towards some trees.
• I showed my pass to the security guard and he waved me through.
• She waved me away impatiently.
3. transitive to hold sth in your hand and move it from side to side
• ~ sth Crowds lined the route, waving flags and cheering.
• ~ sth + adv./prep. ‘I'm rich!’ she exclaimed, waving the money under his nose.
MOVE FREELY
4. intransitive to move freely and gently, for example in the wind, while one end or side is held in position
• The flag waved in the breeze.
HAIR
5. intransitive to curl slightly
• His hair waves naturally.
6. transitive ~ sth to make sb's hair curl slightly
• She's had her hair waved.
more at fly/show/wave the flag at flag n.
Word Origin:
Old English wafian (verb), from the Germanic base of waver; the noun by alteration (influenced by the verb) of Middle English wawe ‘(sea) wave’.
Example Bank:
• He turned to wave to his mother.
• He waved a hand at her to shut her up.
• He waved a hand vaguely in the air.
• She waved cheerfully and he waved back.
• She smiled and waved slightly.
• She waved him to a seat.
• The guards waved us on.
• They stood by the side of the road and waved frantically.
• They waved to us as we passed.
• We waved at the people on the shore.
• people waving goodbye to their friends and relatives
• reeds waving gently in the breeze
• ‘He's over there’ said Ali, waving a hand towards some trees.
• Clean white sheets waved and billowed on the line.
• He was waving at us from the other platform.
• I tried to approach, but he waved me away.
• My mother was crying as I waved her goodbye.
• She waved cheerfully as she set off.
• The man in the water was waving his arms around frantically.
• The referee waved play on.
• Wave goodbye to Daddy.
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
wave / weɪv / verb [ I or T ] (MOVE HAND)
B1 to raise your hand and move it from side to side as a way of greeting someone, telling them to do something or adding emphasis to an expression:
I waved to/at him from the window but he didn't see me.
I was waving my hand madly but he never once looked in my direction.
She was so annoyed she wouldn't even wave us goodbye /wave goodbye to us.
She waves her hands about/around a lot when she's talking.
wave sb away, on, etc. to make a movement with your hand that tells someone to move in a particular direction:
You'll have to wait till the policeman waves this line of traffic on.
You can't just wave me away as if I were a child!
wave / weɪv / verb [ I or T ] (MOVE REPEATEDLY)
C1 to move from side to side, or to make something move like this while holding it in the hand:
The corn waved gently in the summer breeze.
A crowd of football fans ran down the street waving banners.
He seems to think I can wave a magic wand and everything will be all right.
wave / weɪv / verb [ I or T ] (CURL HAIR)
If hair waves, it curls slightly:
If she leaves her hair to dry on its own, it just waves naturally.
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
wave
/weɪv/
(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
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
1wave /ˈweɪv/ verb waves; waved; wav·ing
1 : to move your hand or something held in your hand usually in a repeated motion in order to signal or greet someone
[no obj]
• We waved to our friends through the window.
• They waved at us.
• She was waving in the direction of the bridge.
[+ obj]
• We waved goodbye [=waved as a way of saying goodbye] to them and drove away.
• The traffic cop waved cars through. [=waved in a way that told drivers to continue driving through a particular area]
• We offered to help but he waved us off. [=he waved as a way of telling us that he did not want help]
• We tried to wave down a taxi. [=to get a taxi to stop for us by waving at its driver]
2 [no obj] : to float, shake, or move back and forth because of wind
• Flags were waving in the breeze.
• fields of waving grain
3 [+ obj] : to move (something) back and forth
• The magician waved his magic wand.
• The leader of the parade waved a flag.
• It was so hot that we were all waving our hands in front of our faces to cool off.
4 [+ obj] : to hold up and show (something) in a threatening way
• The robber waved a pistol at the clerk.
• a maniac waving [=brandishing] a knife
5 a [+ obj] : to make (someone's hair) curl slightly - usually used as (be/get) waved
• She got her hair waved.
b [no obj] of hair : to curl slightly
• His hair waves naturally.
wave aside [phrasal verb] wave (something) aside or wave aside (something) : to refuse to consider or respond to (something)
• The officer waved aside my questions.
wave the flag
