What does wax mean?

Definitions for wax
wækswax

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word wax.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. waxverb

    any of various substances of either mineral origin or plant or animal origin; they are solid at normal temperatures and insoluble in water

  2. waxverb

    cover with wax

    "wax the car"

  3. wax, mount, climb, riseverb

    go up or advance

    "Sales were climbing after prices were lowered"

  4. wax, fullverb

    increase in phase

    "the moon is waxing"

GCIDE

  1. Waxnoun

    any of numerous substances or mixtures composed predominantly of the longer-chain saturated hydrocarbons such as the paraffins, which are solid at room teperature, or their alcohol, carboxylic acid, or ester derivatives.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. WAXnoun

    Etymology: wæxe , Saxon; wex, Danish; wacks, Dutch.

    Wax consists of an acid spirit, of a nauseous taste, and an oil or butter, which is emollient, laxative, and anodyne. Arb.

    They give us food which may with nectar vie,
    And wax, that does the absent sun supply. Wentworth Dillon.

    All the magistrates, every new or full moon, give honour to Confucius with bowings, wax candles, and incense. Edward Stillingfleet.

    While visits shall be paid on solemn days,
    When num’rous wax lights in bright order blaze;
    So long my honour, name, and praise shall live. Alexander Pope.

    We soften the wax, before we set on the seal. More.

    A fontanel in her neck was much inflamed, and many wax-kernels about it. Richard Wiseman, Surgery.

  2. To Waxverb

    To smear; to join with wax.

    Etymology: from the noun.

    He form’d the reeds, proportion’d as they are;
    Unequal in their length, and wax’d with care,
    They still retain the name of his ungrateful fair. Dryden.

  3. To Waxverb

    pret. wox, waxed, part. pass. waxed, waxen.

    Etymology: weaxan , Saxon; wachsen, German.

    The husbandman in sowing and setting, upon good reason, observes the waxing and waning of the moon. George Hakewill.

    Land and trade are twins, they wax and wane together. Josiah Child.

    Where things have been instituted, which being convenient and good at the first, do afterward in process of time wax otherwise, we make no doubt but they may be altered, yea, though councils or customs general have received them. Richard Hooker.

    Careless the man soon wax, and his wit weak
    Was overcome of things that did him please. Fairy Queen.

    Art thou like the adder waxen deaf? William Shakespeare.

    We will destroy this place; because the cry of them is waxen great before the Lord. Gen. xix. 13.

    Flowers removed wax greater, because the nourishment is more easily come by in the loose earth. Francis Bacon.

    This answer given, Argantes wild drew near,
    Trembling for ire, and waxing pale for rage;
    Nor could he hold. Edward Fairfax, b. ii.

    If I wax but cold in my desire,
    Think heav’n hath motion lost, and the world fire. John Donne.

    Their manners wax more and more corrupt, in proportion as their blessings abound. Francis Atterbury.

Wikipedia

  1. Wax

    Waxes are a diverse class of organic compounds that are lipophilic, malleable solids near ambient temperatures. They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low viscosity liquids. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in nonpolar organic solvents such as hexane, benzene and chloroform. Natural waxes of different types are produced by plants and animals and occur in petroleum.

ChatGPT

  1. wax

    Wax is a substance that is malleable at ambient temperatures and solid at room temperature. It is a type of organic compound that is water-repellent, typically melting above 45 degrees Celsius. Waxes are made up of various substances, including lipids, such as esters of fatty acids and various long-chain alcohols. They can be naturally produced by both plants and animals or manufactured industrially from petroleum-based products. Common types of wax include beeswax, paraffin wax, and candle wax. Waxes have various uses including in candles, polishes, cosmetics, and for sealing or waterproofing.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Waxverb

    to increase in size; to grow bigger; to become larger or fuller; -- opposed to wane

  2. Waxverb

    to pass from one state to another; to become; to grow; as, to wax strong; to wax warmer or colder; to wax feeble; to wax old; to wax worse and worse

  3. Waxnoun

    a fatty, solid substance, produced by bees, and employed by them in the construction of their comb; -- usually called beeswax. It is first excreted, from a row of pouches along their sides, in the form of scales, which, being masticated and mixed with saliva, become whitened and tenacious. Its natural color is pale or dull yellow

  4. Waxnoun

    hence, any substance resembling beeswax in consistency or appearance

  5. Waxnoun

    cerumen, or earwax

  6. Waxnoun

    a waxlike composition used for uniting surfaces, for excluding air, and for other purposes; as, sealing wax, grafting wax, etching wax, etc

  7. Waxnoun

    a waxlike composition used by shoemakers for rubbing their thread

  8. Waxnoun

    a substance similar to beeswax, secreted by several species of scale insects, as the Chinese wax. See Wax insect, below

  9. Waxnoun

    a waxlike product secreted by certain plants. See Vegetable wax, under Vegetable

  10. Waxnoun

    a substance, somewhat resembling wax, found in connection with certain deposits of rock salt and coal; -- called also mineral wax, and ozocerite

  11. Waxnoun

    thick sirup made by boiling down the sap of the sugar maple, and then cooling

  12. Waxverb

    to smear or rub with wax; to treat with wax; as, to wax a thread or a table

  13. Etymology: [AS. weaxan; akin to OFries. waxa, D. wassen, OS. & OHG. wahsan, G. wachsen, Icel. vaxa, Sw. vxa, Dan. voxe, Goth. wahsjan, Gr. to increase, Skr. waksh, uksh, to grow. 135. Cf. Waist.]

Wikidata

  1. Wax

    Waxes are a class of chemical compounds that are plastic near ambient temperatures. Characteristically, they melt above 45 °C to give a low viscosity liquid. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in organic, nonpolar solvents. All waxes are organic compounds, both synthetic and naturally occurring.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Wax

    waks, n. the name given to some animal and vegetable substances, and even to one or two mineral bodies (e.g. ozokerite), which more or less resemble beeswax both in their appearance and in their physical properties: the fat-like yellow substance produced by bees, and used by them in making their cells: any substance like it, as that in the ear: the substance used to seal letters: that used by shoemakers to rub their thread: in coal-mining, puddled clay: a thick sugary substance made by boiling down the sap of the sugar-maple, and cooling by exposure to the air: (coll.) a passion.—v.t. to smear or rub with wax.—ns. Wax′-bill, one of various small spermestine seed-eating birds with bills like sealing-wax; Wax′-chand′ler, a maker or dealer in wax candles; Wax′-cloth, cloth covered with a coating of wax, used for table-covers, &c., a popular name for all oil floorcloths; Wax′-doll, a child's doll having the head and bust made of hardened beeswax.—adj. Wax′en, made of wax, like wax, easily effaced.—ns. Wax′-end, better Waxed end, a strong thread having its end stiffened by shoemakers' wax, so as to go easily through the hole made by the awl; Wax′er, one who or that which waxes; Wax′-flow′er, a flower made of wax; Wax′iness, waxy appearance; Wax′ing, a method of putting a finish on dressed leather: the process of stopping out colours in calico-printing; Wax′-in′sect, an insect which secretes wax; Wax′-light, a candle or taper made of wax; Wax′-mod′elling, the process of forming figures in wax; Wax′-moth, a bee-moth; Wax′-myr′tle, the candle-berry tree; Wax′-paint′ing, a kind of painting, the pigments for which are ground with wax and diluted with oil of turpentine; Wax′-palm, either of two South American palms yielding wax; Wax′-pā′per, paper prepared by spreading over its surface a thin coating made of white wax and other materials.—adj. Wax′-red (Shak.), bright-red like sealing-wax.—ns. Wax′tree, a genus of plants of natural order Hypericaceæ, all whose species yield a yellow resinous juice when wounded, forming when dried the so-called American gamboge; Wax′-wing, a genus of small Passerine birds, so named from most of the species having small red horny appendages, resembling red sealing-wax, on their wings; Wax′work, work made of wax, esp. figures or models formed of wax: (pl.) an exhibition of wax figures; Wax′worker.—adj. Wax′y, resembling wax: soft: pallid, pasty: adhesive: (slang) irate, incensed.—Waxy degeneration, a morbid process in which the healthy tissue of various organs is transformed into a peculiar waxy albuminous substance—also amyloid or lardaceous degeneration. [A.S. weax; Ice. vax, Dut. was, Ger. wachs.]

  2. Wax

    waks, v.i. to grow or increase, esp. of the moon, as opposed to Wane: to pass into another state.—pa.p. Wax′en (B.), grown. [A.S. weaxan; Ice. vaxa, Ger. wachsen, L. augēre, to increase, Gr. auxanein.]

Rap Dictionary

  1. waxnoun

    Record album(s). "And we put it on wax, it's the new style" -- Beastie Boys (The New Style).

  2. waxnoun

    Synonym to tax as in "wax his ass" from the black popular "mop up the floor with your ass".

  3. waxnoun

    Describing refinement as in 'waxed, buffed and simonized' from the Mister Magic radio show.

  4. waxnoun

    To make a car appear very shiny.

Suggested Resources

  1. wax

    Song lyrics by wax -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by wax on the Lyrics.com website.

  2. WAX

    What does WAX stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the WAX acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Entomology

  1. Wax

    a ductile substance excreted by bees and other insects from glandular structures in various parts of the body, used in building cells or in forming a protective covering.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. WAX

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Wax is ranked #15833 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Wax surname appeared 1,838 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Wax.

    87.7% or 1,612 total occurrences were White.
    6.5% or 120 total occurrences were Black.
    3.3% or 61 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.2% or 22 total occurrences were of two or more races.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of wax in Chaldean Numerology is: 3

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of wax in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of wax in a Sentence

  1. Kim Kardashian:

    The wax [museum] has given my mom her wax figure to have just sitting at her bar, but you guys have no idea how real this looks.

  2. William Shakespeare, Hamlet, 1600:

    Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.

  3. Antoine de Rivarol:

    Gold like the sun, which melts wax, but hardens clay, expands great souls.

  4. Meghan McCain:

    You're talking about Donald Trump supporters, comparing them to Nazis in Nuremberg, that sounds extreme to me as well, when Democrats come on here and wax poetic about extremism -- I'm not saying Donald Trump isn't doing it, but you're calling everybody who was in North Carolina rally a Nazi.

  5. Theodore Rugers:

    Once again, Amy Wax has, through Amy Wax thoroughly anti-intellectual and racist comments denigrating Asian immigrants, underscored a fundamental tension around harmful speech at American universities, like all racist generalizations, Wax's recent comments inflict harm by perpetuating stereotypes and placing differential burdens on Asian students, faculty, and staff to carry the weight of this vitriol and bias.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for wax

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"wax." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/wax>.

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