WAVING

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does waving mean? 

• WAVING (noun)
  The noun WAVING has 1 sense:

1. the act of signaling by a movement of the hand

  Familiarity information: WAVING used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WAVING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The act of signaling by a movement of the hand

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

wafture; wave; waving

Hypernyms ("waving" is a kind of...):

gesture; motion (the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "waving"):

brandish; flourish (the act of waving)

Derivation:

wave (signal with the hands or nod)

 Context examples 

"No, no, not at all," Martin answered, shaking hands and waving him to the solitary chair, himself taking to the bed.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

He stared a minute, then his whole face woke up, and, waving his hat like a boy, he hurried forward to meet her.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

And think of the challenge which was ever waving in those days before the eyes of a coast-living lad!

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

“God save the king!” said I, waving my cap. “And there's an end to Captain Silver!”

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

“Here is to old Samkin Aylward!” shouted several at the further end of the room, waving their blackjacks in the air.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The last I saw, she was waving her hand in farewell.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

My heart burst out when I heard the sound, and beheld the waving of the hats and handkerchiefs—and then I saw her!

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I did not attempt to shout, but communicated the news to Wolf Larsen by waving my arm.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Glancing back, I saw a tall man pushing his way furiously through the crowd, and waving his hand as if he desired to have the train stopped.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Looking up, we could see them waving their arms from the rocks above and beckoning to us to join them in their refuge.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)