wave noun
1 on water
ADJ. big, enormous, giant, great, huge, mountainous | small, tiny | white-capped, white-crested, white-topped | breaking | tidal Several villages have been destroyed by a huge tidal wave.
VERB + WAVE ride Surfers flocked to the beach to ride the waves.
WAVE + VERB rise | break, fall We watched the waves breaking on the shore. | lap the gentle sound of waves lapping the sand | crash, roar, smash I could hear the waves crash against the rocks.
WAVE + NOUN energy, power
PREP. in the ~s children playing in the waves | on the ~s There were seagulls bobbing on the waves.
PHRASES the crash/crashing/lap/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 energy
ADJ. electromagnetic, light, radio, seismic, shock, sound
VERB + WAVE emit, generate | deflect
WAVE + VERB bounce off sth, travel Sound waves bounce off objects in their path.
3 increase/spread
ADJ. big, enormous, huge, massive | fresh, new, next, recent | first, second, etc. the first wave of immigration in the 1950s | crime
VERB + WAVE send Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.
WAVE + VERB sweep (over) sth, wash over/through sb/sth With the fall of the Bastille in 1789, a wave of euphoria swept over Europe. A wave of relief washed over him as he saw that the children were safe.
PREP. ~ of a big wave of refugees
4 hand movement
ADJ. quick | cheery, friendly | farewell, parting
VERB + WAVE give (sb), return I returned his wave and started to walk towards him.
PREP. with a ~ | ~ of He dismissed her thanks with a quick wave of the hand.
wave verb
ADV. gently reeds waving gently in the breeze | vigorously | cheerfully, cheerily, happily | frantically, wildly They stood by the side of the road and waved frantically. | vaguely He waved a hand vaguely in the air. | dismissively | about/around, aside, back, on, through She waved cheerfully and he waved back. The guards waved us on.
VERB + WAVE turn and/to He turned to wave to his mother.
PREP. 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
You can also check other dicts: wave (English, 中文解释 ), wordnet sense, Collins Definition