| Principal Translations |
| wax n | (candle material) | cera nf |
| | Linda dipped a wick into the melted wax to make a candle. |
| | Linda introdujo una mecha en la cera derretida para hacer una vela. |
| wax n | (polish for car or floor) (limpiar) | cera nf |
| | Having washed his car, Peter used wax to finish it. |
| | Tras haber limpiado el coche, Peter le puso cera para terminar. |
| wax n | (hair-removal substance) (depilar) | cera nf |
| | The beautician applied wax to Sarah's leg. |
| | La esteticista aplicó cera para depilarle a Sarah la pierna. |
| wax [sth]⇒ vtr | (polish with wax) | encerar⇒ vtr |
| | Ian waxed the wooden floor. |
| | Tania is waxing her skis. |
| | Ian enceró el suelo de madera. // Tania está encerando sus esquíes. |
| wax [sth] vtr | (remove hair from: body) | depilarse⇒ v prnl |
| | Elizabeth waxed her upper lip to remove the dark hairs that were growing there. |
| | Elizabeth se depiló el labio superior para quitarse los vellos oscuros que le salían allí. |
| wax⇒ vi | (moon: grow larger) | crecer⇒ vi |
| | The moon is waxing; you can see a little more of it every night. |
| | La luna está creciendo; puedes ver un poco más de ella cada noche. |
| Additional Translations |
| wax vi | figurative (become larger, more powerful) | crecer⇒ vi |
| | | expandirse⇒ v prnl |
| | The newspaper editor's influence is waxing. |
| | La influencia del editor del periódico está creciendo. |
| wax + [adjective] vi + adj | (grow, become) (positivo) | emocionarse⇒, entusiasmarse⇒ v prnl |
| | (negativo) | enfurecerse⇒ v prnl |
| | Raphaël waxed ecstatic about the fine wines he had drunk the night before. |
| | When the author described the colourful market scene, she began to wax lyrical. |
| | When the man saw the damage to his car, he waxed angry. |
| | Rafael se entusiasmaba hablando de los vinos que había bebido la noche anterior. // Cuando la autora describió la escena de los mercados coloridos, se entusiasmó. |
| | Cuando el hombre vio los daños causados a su auto, se enfureció. |
Compound Forms:
wax | waxing lyrical |
beeswax,
wax n | (product of bees) | cera de abeja grupo nom |
| | Beeswax can be used to make wraps for storing food. |
| car wax n | (car cleaning product) | cera para vehículos nf + loc adj |
| | | abrillantador para carrocerías nm + loc adj |
| carnauba wax n | (palm tree) | carnaúba nf |
| | | palma carnaúba loc nom f |
| | | copernicia prunifera loc nom f |
| carnauba wax n | (wax from carnauba palm tree) | cera de carnaúba nf + loc adj |
| | | carnaúba nf |
earwax,
ear wax n | (substance secreted by the ear) | cera nf |
| | (AmL) | cerilla nf |
| | | cera de los oídos loc nom f |
| | (formal) | cerumen nm |
| | Mites in the ears can cause increased amounts of earwax in cats. |
| | La ácaros en los oídos pueden causar un incremento de cera en los gatos. |
montan wax,
lignite wax n | (type of wax) | cera montana loc nom f |
paraffin wax,
paraffin n | (substance made from petroleum) | parafina nf |
| | Nowadays candles are usually made from paraffin wax. |
| | Actualmente las velas se hacen a menudo de parafina. |
| paste wax n | (finishing product for wood or metal) | cera en pasta nf + loc adj |
| | Aplique la cera en pasta, deje secar y luego lustre con una franela para sacar brillo. |
| put to wax adj | informal (recorded on vinyl) | grabado en un disco loc adj |
| | | grabado en vinilo loc adj |
| sealing wax n | (substance used to seal documents) | lacre nm |
| the whole ball of wax n | US, slang (everything) | todo el asunto loc nom m |
| | (ES) | todo el rollo expr |
| | | toda la historia expr |
| | Give me a shampoo, haircut, permanent, and facial; I want the whole ball of wax. |
| | Quiero lavado, corte, permanente y tratamiento facial; todo el asunto. |
| wax and wane vi | (moon: go through phases) | crecer y decrecer loc verb |
| | The moon waxes and wanes on a twenty-nine day cycle, from full moon to new moon. |
| | La luna crece y decrece durante un ciclo de 29 días, desde luna llena a luna nueva. |
| wax and wane vi | (increase and decrease) (informal) | ir y venir loc verb |
| | | fluctuar⇒ vi |
| | | oscilar⇒ vi |
| | | experimentar altibajos loc verb |
| | The popularity of knitting as a hobby has waxed and waned over the years. |
| | His enthusiasm for the job waxes and wanes. |
| | Su entusiasmo por el trabajo va y viene. |
| | La popularidad de tejer como afición ha experimentado altibajos a lo largo de los años. |
| wax bean n | (legume) (ES) | judía de cera, judía mantequera loc nom f |
| | (NI) | frijol de cera loc nom m |
| | | haba amarilla de cera loc nom f |
| wax candle n | (candle made of wax) | vela de cera nf + loc adj |
| wax coating n | (covering of beeswax) | capa de cera nf + loc adj |
| wax gourd n | (plant: Benincasa hispida) | calabaza china loc nom f |
| | | calabaza blanca loc nom f |
| | | calabaza de la cera loc nom f |
| wax light n | archaic (candle) | vela nf |
wax moth,
bee moth n | (moth: larvae eat honeycomb) | isoca nf |
| wax museum n | (place which exhibits wax figures) | museo de cera nm |
| wax myrtle n | (plant in southeast US) | árbol de la cera loc nom m |
wax paper,
waxed paper n | (waterproof paper used in cookery) | papel manteca loc nom m |
| | | papel encerado loc nom m |
| wax tablet | (tablet covered with wax) | tablilla de cera loc nom f |
white gourd,
wax gourd,
tunka,
Chinese watermelon n | (fruit) | calabaza blanca loc nom f |
| | | calabaza china loc nom f |