Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: wafian 'to wave with the hands'

wave

2 verb
     
wave
Related topics: Hair and Beauty
wave2 S3 W3
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]DCB 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
TTC 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?
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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