| Principal Translations |
| wave n | (ocean, water: undulation) | ola nf |
| | The ocean waves rocked the boat. |
| | Las olas del océano mecían la embarcación. |
| wave n | (hand gesture) | gesto de saludo con la mano nm + loc adj |
| | | saludar⇒ vtr |
| | Amanda acknowledged Tim with a wave as she went past. |
| | Amando hizo un gesto de saludo con la mano cuando vio pasar a Tim. |
| | Amanda saludó a Tim cuando lo vio pasar. |
| wave n | figurative (series) | oleada nf |
| | There was a wave of protests after the announcement of the new policy. |
| | Hubo una oleada de protestas tras el anuncio de la nueva política. |
| wave n | (physics: oscillation) | onda nf |
| | The waves cause the particles to vibrate. |
| | Las ondas hacían que las partículas vibrasen. |
| wave⇒ vi | (gesture hello, goodbye) | decir adiós con la mano loc verb |
| | | saludar con la mano loc verb |
| | | decir hola con la mano loc verb |
| | She saw him waving from the end of the pier. |
| | Ella vio como él le decía adiós con la mano desde el final del muelle. |
| wave [sth]⇒ vtr | (gesture: hello, goodbye) | decir adiós con la mano loc verb |
| | | decir hola con la mano loc verb |
| | She waved goodbye to him. |
| | Ella le dijo adiós con la mano. |
| | Ella le dijo hola con la mano. |
wave at [sb],
wave to [sb] vtr + prep | (gesture in greeting) | saludar con la mano a alguien loc verb |
| | Brent waved at his sons as he approached the house. |
| | Brent saludó a sus hijos con la mano mientras se acercaba a la casa. |
| Additional Translations |
| wave n | (weather: surge) | ola nf |
| | A wave of cold air swept through the region last night. |
| | Una ola de aire frío cruzó la región anoche. |
| wave n | figurative (surge: of enthusiasm) | oleada nf |
| | | ola nf |
| | There was a wave of enthusiasm after the team's win. |
| | Había una oleada de entusiasmo tras la victoria del equipo. |
| wave n | figurative (rush of people) | oleada nf |
| | A wave of people flowed into the stadium after they opened the doors. |
| | Una oleada de gente ingresó al estadio cuando se abrieron las puertas. |
| wave⇒ vi | (flutter) (general) | agitarse⇒ v prnl |
| | (bandera) | ondear⇒ vi |
| | (bandera) | flamear⇒ vi |
| | Three flags were waving in the wind. |
| | Tres banderas se agitaban al viento. |
| | Tres banderas ondeaban al viento. |
| | Tres banderas flameaban al viento. |
| wave [sth]⇒ vtr | (hold aloft) | agitar⇒ vtr |
| | (AR) | revolear⇒ vtr |
| | Everybody ran when he started waving a gun. |
| | Todos empezaron a correr cuando él comenzó a agitar su arma. |
| wave [sth] vtr | (agitate, make flutter) (general) | agitar⇒ vtr |
| | (bandera) | ondear⇒ vtr |
| | The spectators at the parade were waving flags. |
| | Los espectadores del desfile agitaban banderas. |
| | Los espectadores del desfile estaban ondeando banderas. |
| wave [sth] vtr | (hair: curl) | ondular⇒ vtr |
| | She waved her hair using her curling iron. |
| | Ella se onduló el pelo usando una plancha rizadora. |
Locuciones verbales
|
wave [sb/sth] aside,
wave aside [sb/sth] vtr phrasal sep | (dismiss with hand gesture) | rechazar con la mano vtr + loc adv |
wave [sb/sth] away,
wave away [sb/sth] vtr phrasal sep | (dismiss [sb/sth]) | ignorar⇒ vtr |
| | | desestimar⇒ vtr |
| wave back at [sb] vi phrasal + prep | (greet in return) (con la mano) | devolver el saludo loc verb |
| Note: Ante complemento directo de persona debe usarse la preposición «a». |
wave [sb/sth] down,
wave down [sb/sth] vtr phrasal sep | (signal [sth/sb] to stop) (para que se detenga) | hacer señales a alguien/algo loc verb |
wave [sb/sth] off,
wave off [sb/sth] vtr phrasal sep | (gesture goodbye to) | saludar con la mano loc verb |
| | | decir adiós con la mano loc verb |
| | (formal) | hacer un ademán de despedida loc verb |
| | The onlookers waved the train off as it left the station. |
| | Los que miraban saludaron con la mano al tren cuando salió de la estación. |
wave [sb/sth] off,
wave off [sb/sth] vtr phrasal sep | figurative (dismiss, disregard) | despedirse con la mano loc verb |
| | | saludar con la mano loc verb |
| | | decir adiós con la mano loc verb |
| | The actress laughed, waving off the rumor that she had fallen out with the director. |
Compound Forms:
|
| alpha wave n | (vibration in the brain) | onda alfa loc nom f |
| blast wave | (explosions) | onda expansiva nf + adj |
| bow wave n | (wave made by ship's bow) | onda de proa loc nom f |
| bow wave n | (shock wave) | ola nf |
brainwave,
brain wave n | usually plural (electrical impulse in the brain) | onda cerebral loc nom f |
| | Brainwaves carry messages throughout our bodies. |
| | Las ondas cerebrales llevan los mensajes por nuestros cuerpos. |
brainwave,
brain wave n | figurative, informal (good idea) | idea genial, idea brillante nf + adj mf |
| Note: Usually singular for this meaning. |
| | I had the brainwave of using apricots instead of dates, and the cake was delicious. |
| cold wave n | (period of extremely cold weather) | ola de frío nf + loc adj |
| | | ola polar nf + adj mf |
| | The weather bureau forecast a cold wave. |
| | El departamento de meteorología pronostica una ola de frío. |
| cold wave n | (hairdressing: type of perm) | ola de frío loc nom f |
| crime wave n | (rise in rate of crime) | ola de crimen nf + loc adj |
| | | ola criminal nf + adj mf |
| | A crime wave has been sweeping across the country. |
| | Una ola de crimen arrasa al país. |
| delta wave n | (physiology) (fisiología) | onda delta loc nom f |
electromagnetic wave,
electric wave n | (wave of energy) | onda electromagnética nf + adj |
gravitational wave,
gravity wave n | (physics, astronomy) | onda gravitatoria nf + adj mf |
heatwave,
heat wave n | (period of hot weather) | ola de calor grupo nom |
| | | canícula nf |
| | A heatwave in January is unusual for this part of the country. |
| | Una ola de calor en enero es inusual en esta parte del país. |
| long wave n | (electromagnetic wave) | onda larga loc nom f |
| longitudinal wave n | (physics) | onda longitudinal nf + adj mf |
| matter wave | (physics) (física) | onda de materia loc nom f |
Mexican wave,
the wave n | (crowd movement up and down) | ola nf |
| New Wave n | (movement breaking with tradition) | nueva ola loc nom f |
| New Wave n | (1960s cinema) (voz francesa, cine) | Nouvelle Vague n propio f |
| | | Nueva Ola n propio f |
| New Wave n as adj | (relating to 1960s cinema) (cine) | de la Nueva Ola loc adj |
| | Jean-Luc Godard is regarded as the father of French New Wave cinema. |
| | Jean-Luc Godard es considerado el padre de la Nueva Ola del cine francés. |
| New Wave n | (music: 70s, 80s pop) (música, voz inglesa) | New Wave n propio m |
| | | Nueva Ola n propio f |
| New Wave n as adj | (relating to 70s, 80s pop music) | del New Wave loc adj |
| | | de la Nueva Ola loc adj |
| perm n | colloquial, abbreviation (hairstyle: permanent wave) (peinado) | permanente nf |
| | I'm tired of my straight hair, so I'm getting a perm. |
| | Ya me cansé de mi pelo lacio, así que me voy a hacer una permanente. |
| permanent wave n | dated (hairstyle: artificial curls) | permanente nf |
| | In the 1980's many girls had a permanent wave to make their hair curly. |
| | En los 80s muchas chicas se hacían la permanente para tener el pelo con rulos. |
| | (MX) | permanente nm |
| Note: En México se usa con género masculino: el permanente. |
| | En los 80s muchas chicas se hacían el permanente para tener el pelo con rulos. |
| radio wave | (electronics) | onda de radio nf + loc adj |
| | | onda hertziana nf + adj |
| seismic wave n | (earthquake: tremor, vibration) | onda sísmica nf + adj |
| shock wave n | (air pressure after explosion) | onda sísmica nf + adj |
| | (formal) | movimiento sísmico nm + adj |
| | (coloquial) | terremoto nm |
| | | sismo nm |
| shock wave n | figurative, usually plural (violent disturbance) (figurado) | terremoto nm |
| | The scandal sent shock waves through the whole community. |
| | El escándalo fue un auténtico terremoto para la comunidad. |
| | | conmoción nf |
| | El escándalo fue una auténtica conmoción para la comunidad. |
| sine wave n | (physics) | onda sinusoidal loc nom f |
| slow wave | (physiology) | onda lenta nf + adj |
| sound wave n | (physics) | onda sonora nf + adj |
standing wave,
stationary wave n | (physics) | onda estacionaria loc nom f |
| tidal wave n | (tsunami) | maremoto nm |
| | The town of Hilo in Hawaii has suffered several deadly tidal waves in the last century. |
| | La ciudad de Hilo en Hawái ha sufrido varios maremotos mortales en el último siglo. |
| tidal wave n | figurative (big surge) | oleada nf |
| | We've received a tidal wave of orders for our new product. |
| | Hemos recibido una oleada de pedidos para nuestro nuevo producto. |
traveling wave (US),
travelling wave (UK) n | (physics) (física) | tubo de onda progresiva loc nom m |
| wave [sth] about vtr + adv | (cause to flutter) | agitar⇒ vtr |
| wave [sth] around vtr + adv | (hold aloft, brandish) | agitar⇒ vtr |
| | | levantar⇒ vtr |
| wave farm n | (facility: generates tidal power) | central mareomotriz nf + adj mf |
| | | usina mareomotriz nf + adj mf |
| wave front n | (physics) (física) | frente de onda loc nom m |
| wave function n | (physics: wave equation solution) | ecuación de onda loc nom f |
| wave mechanics n | (physics) | mecánica ondulatoria loc nom f |
| wave number | (physics) | número de onda loc nom m |
| wave of the future | (trend of development) (figurado) | ola del futuro loc nom f |
wave [sb] on,
wave on [sb] vtr + adv | (signal to move forward) | indicar a alguien que siga adelante loc verb |
| | | hacer señales a alguien para que siga adelante loc verb |
| wave pool n | (waterpark attraction) | piscina de olas nf + loc adj |
| | (AR) | pileta de olas nf + loc adj |
| | (MX) | alberca de olas nf + loc adj |
wave theory,
undulatory theory n | (physics) (física) | teoría ondulatoria loc nom f |
| wave theory n | (linguistics) | teoria ondulatoria loc nom f |
waveband,
wave band n | (radio: frequency range) | banda de frecuencias grupo nom |
| waveform n | (physics: shape of a wave) | onda nf |
| | The waveform of a current refers to its shape on a graph of signal strength plotted against time. |
| waveguide n | (tube that guides microwaves) | guía de onda nf + loc adj |