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wave away

B1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words

To move your hand to tell someone or something to go away, or to act like an idea isn't worth thinking about.

Literal meaning: To wave your hand to make someone or something go away.

Meanings

1 B1 neutral

To use a hand gesture to indicate that someone should go away or that something should be removed.

"She waved away the waiter when he came to refill her glass."

Grammar: separable
2 B2 idiomatic neutral

To dismiss a comment, suggestion, or emotion as unimportant or unwelcome.

"He waved away her apology and said he had already forgotten the incident."

Grammar: separable
3 B1 neutral

To bid farewell to someone by waving as they depart.

"The crowd waved away the team as the bus drove out of the stadium."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

The literal sense involves a physical gesture; the figurative sense is common in both spoken and written English to describe dismissive behaviour. Common across all varieties of English.

Commonly used with

suggestion comment waiter flies camera reporters question

Forms

Base
wave away
I/you/we/they
3rd person
waves away
he/she/it
Past simple
waved away
yesterday
Past participle
waved away
have + pp
-ing form
waving away
continuous

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