Meanings
suffix
- Applied to various (often very specialised) music genres, subcultures and aesthetics.
dark + -wave → darkwave
2 more examples
chill + -wave → chillwave
vapor + -wave → vaporwave
Origin
Likely derived from new wave, and popularized by the terms chillwave and vaporwave.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
-wave. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-wave
MLA
“-wave.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-wave. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “-wave,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/-wave.
Source: -wave on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.