Glossary of Usage Waive and Wave

The words waive and wave are  homophones: they sound alike but have different meanings. Definitions The verb waive means to voluntarily  defer, dispense with, or give up (a claim or right). The verb wave means to make a signal with the hand or to move freely back and forth. As a noun, wave refers to a ridge of water, a surge, or a rising trend. Examples Some agencies waive the collection fees on overdue student loans if they are paid in full.The retiring  ballplayer waved to the crowd, looking somber in his final moment of glory.A silent security guard in a pasty-green uniform directed us with  a careless wave  to a flapping wooden door, from which a cold, abysmal breeze steadily blew.(Larry Frolick, Grand Centaur Station.  McClelland Stewart, 2004)The boisterous sea of liberty is never without a wave.(Thomas Jefferson in a letter to Richard Rush, October 20, 1820)The singing reached Joe vaguely; he felt happy and friendly toward all the people gathered here . . .. He liked them—he loved them. Great waves of good feeling flowed through him.(F. Scott Fitzgerald, Crazy Sunday. American Mercury, 1932)[T]he crossing guard stands and winks at me daily, as dependably as a blinking light. . . . She is waving cars and people forward in waves.(Rosellen Brown, How to Win. The Massachusetts Review, 1975) Idiom Alerts Make WavesThe metaphorical expression to make waves means to create a disturbance or make trouble by doing or saying something new or different.Today, artists kicking around in political waters are more likely to  make waves  online using social media, and more likely to gain viral attention with an unexpected political quip at an opportune moment.(Joe Cascarelli, Prophets of Rage Bring Their Anger to the Republican Convention. The New York Times, July 20, 2016)Wave (Someone or Something) Off or AwayThe phrasal verb  to wave (someone or something) off or away means to dismiss or to make a signal with the hand indicating that someone or something should move away or stay at a distance.-  China once could  wave off  complaints about its currency policies, arguing that it was a developing nation entitled to a bit of slack from its Western customers.- Kipper  waved off  a security guard who seemed intent on holding them up, and accelerated past, paying no respect at all t o his frantically waving clipboard.(John Birmingham, Without Warning. Del Ray, 2009) Practice (a) A record-breaking heat _____ tightened its grip on New York City on Tuesday.(b) An  enormous  _____  crashed high on the beach, sweeping the castle into the sea.(Steven  J. Simmons,  Alice and Gretta.  Charlesbridge, 1997)(c) According to policy experts, parties may choose to _____ legal rights when public money is involved.(d) The country has recently experienced  another great _____  of immigration, the largest since the 1920s. Answers to Practice Exercises: Waive and Wave (a) A record-breaking heat  wave  tightened its grip on New York City on Tuesday.(b) An  enormous  wave  crashed high on the beach, sweeping the castle into the sea.(Steven  J. Simmons,  Alice  and  Gretta.  Charlesbridge, 1997)(c) According to policy experts, parties may choose to  waive  legal rights when public money is involved.(d) The country has recently experienced  another great  wave  of immigration, the largest since the 1920s.