new wave

noun

variants often New Wave
Synonyms of new wavenext
1
: a cinematic movement that is characterized by improvisation, abstraction, and subjective symbolism and that often makes use of experimental photographic techniques
2
: a new movement in a particular field
3
: popular music less raw than punk rock and typically including unconventional melodies, exaggerated beats, and quirky lyrics
4
: dernier cri
especially : fashion that is strikingly outrageous
new-wave
ˈnü-ˈwāv How to pronounce new wave (audio)
ˈnyü-, 
-ˌwāv
adjective
new waver
ˈnü-ˈwā-vər How to pronounce new wave (audio)
ˈnyü-
noun

Examples of new wave in a Sentence

people who listened to punk, New Wave, or disco
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Their hiring boom has drawn a new wave of tech workers to San Francisco and its commuter suburbs and sent them into an already tight housing market. — Samantha Delouya, CNN Money, 17 Aug. 2026 Wall Street's largest banks are riding a lucrative new wave — bankrolling the AI gold rush. — Morgan Chittum, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026 And a new wave of young megatalent is now ready to take over screens and make their impact on Hollywood at large. — Megan Vick, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026 Pokémon received a new wave of energy in 2016 with the release of Pokémon Go. — Raven Brunner, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for new wave

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of new wave was in 1960

Rhymes for new wave

See All Rhymes for new wave

Browse Nearby Words

new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
new wave
New Westminster
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“New wave.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/new%20wave. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on new wave

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for new wave

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about new wave

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of oxymoron

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All