- wave
- {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} noun1 on waterADJECTIVE▪ big, enormous, giant, great, huge, mountainous▪ small, tiny▪ 10-foot, 40-foot, etc.▪ gentle▪
the gentle waves of the bay
▪ white-capped▪ incoming, oncoming▪He swam headlong into the oncoming wave.
▪ breaking▪ crashing▪ rolling▪ lapping▪ ocean▪the roar of ocean waves
▪ tidal, tsunami▪Several villages have been destroyed by a huge tidal wave.
▪ rogue▪These boats aren't strong enough to withstand rogue waves.
VERB + WAVE▪ ride▪Surfers flocked to the beach to ride the waves.
▪ surf▪She loved surfing the giant waves of the sea.
▪ catch (often figurative)▪How do we catch the next great wave of innovation?
WAVE + VERB▪ rise▪ break, fall, roll, roll in▪We watched the waves breaking on the shore.
▪ hit sth, pound sth, strike sth▪The waves hit the rocks with huge energy.
▪ lap▪the gentle sound of waves lapping the sand
▪ splash▪A huge wave splashed over him.
▪ crash, roar, smash▪I could hear the waves crash against the rocks.
WAVE + NOUN▪ energy, powerPREPOSITION▪ in the waves▪children playing in the waves
▪ on the waves▪There were seagulls bobbing on the waves.
PHRASES▪ the crash of the waves, the crashing of the waves, the lap of the waves, the lapping of the waves▪All you could hear was the lapping of the waves.
▪ the crest of a wave (often figurative)▪She is on the crest of a wave at the moment following her Olympic success.
2 movement of energyADJECTIVE▪ acoustic, electromagnetic, gravitational, gravity, light, radio, seismic, shock, sound, ultrasonicVERB + WAVE▪ emit, generate▪ deflect▪ detectWAVE + VERB▪ travel▪ bounce off sth, travel▪Sound waves bounce off objects in their path.
3 increase/spreadADJECTIVE▪ big, enormous, great, huge, massive▪ fresh, new, next, recent▪ current▪the current wave of business scandals
▪ successive▪successive waves of immigrants
▪ first, second, etc.▪the first wave of immigration in the 1950s
▪ crimeVERB + WAVE▪ send▪The news sent a wave of relief through the crowd.
▪ cause, create, generate, produce, prompt, spark, trigger▪This tendency has generated a new wave of company mergers.
▪ launch, unleash▪The attack unleashed a wave of terror in the city.
▪ feel▪I feel a wave of panic flow through me.
WAVE + VERB▪ sweep sth, sweep over sth, wash over sb/sth, wash through sb/sth▪With the fall of the Bastille in 1789, a wave of euphoria swept Europe.
▪A wave of relief washed over him as he saw that the children were safe.
PREPOSITION▪ wave of▪a big wave of refugees
▪ on a wave▪swept along on a wave of critical acclaim
4 hand movementADJECTIVE▪ quick▪ little, slight (esp. AmE)▪ cheery, friendly▪ farewell, goodbye (esp. AmE), parting▪ casual▪ dismissive▪She gave a dismissive wave of her hand.
▪ half-heartedVERB + WAVE▪ give (sb), return▪I returned his wave and started to walk up to him.
PREPOSITION▪ with a wave▪ wave of▪{{Roman}}II.{{/Roman}}He dismissed her thanks with a quick wave of the hand.
verbADVERB▪ gently▪reeds waving gently in the breeze
▪ vigorously▪ cheerfully, cheerily, happily▪ proudly▪ enthusiastically, excitedly, frantically, madly, wildly▪They stood by the side of the road and waved frantically.
▪ quickly▪ slightly (esp. AmE)▪She smiled and waved slightly.
▪ just, merely, simply▪ vaguely▪He waved a hand vaguely in the air.
▪ casually▪ dismissively▪ half-heartedly▪ shyly▪ about (esp. BrE), around, aside, away, back, in, on, through▪She waved cheerfully and he waved back.
▪The guards waved us on.
VERB + WAVE▪ turn and, turn to▪He turned to wave to his mother.
PREPOSITION▪ at▪We waved at the people on the shore.
▪ to▪They waved to us as we passed.
▪She waved him to a seat.
PHRASES▪ wave (sb) goodbye▪people waving goodbye to their friends and relatives
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
