wax
verb/wæks/
/wæks/
Verb Forms
Idioms | present simple I / you / we / they wax | /wæks/ /wæks/ |
| he / she / it waxes | /ˈwæksɪz/ /ˈwæksɪz/ |
| past simple waxed | /wækst/ /wækst/ |
| past participle waxed | /wækst/ /wækst/ |
| -ing form waxing | /ˈwæksɪŋ/ /ˈwæksɪŋ/ |
- [transitive] wax something to polish something with wax
- [transitive, usually passive] wax something to cover something with wax
- waxed paper
- a waxed jacket
- [transitive, often passive] wax something to remove hair from a part of the body using wax
- to wax your legs/to have your legs waxed
- [intransitive] (of the moon) to seem to get gradually bigger until its full form can be seen opposite waneTopics Spacec2
- [intransitive] + lyrical, eloquent, sentimental, etc. (formal) to become lyrical, etc. when speaking or writing
- He waxed lyrical on the food at the new restaurant.
- He waxed eloquent about her talents as an actor.
Word Originverb senses 1 to 3 Old English wæx, weax, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch was and German Wachs. The verb dates from late Middle English. verb senses 4 to 5 Old English weaxan, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch wassen and German wachsen, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek auxanein and Latin augere ‘to increase’.
Idioms
See wax in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarywax and wane
- (literary) to increase then decrease in strength, importance, etc. over a period of time
- Public interest in the issue has waxed and waned over the years.
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spick and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
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wax