Meanings
plural bow waves
- The wave that forms at the bow of a ship as it moves through the water, and defines the outer limits of the ship's wake.
But in the half light of dawn, at about half past four, a destroyer came towards them from the west, throwing a deep, feathery bow wave of white foam aside as she cut through the water, bearing down on them.
1942, Neville Shute, chapter 11, in Pied Piper, New York: William Morrow & Co1 more example
"They are not able to service every railway contract going to the market at the same time. It creates an artificial bow-wave of work and in some cases, like TransPennine, the nature of the infrastructure work means we want some continuity," he said.
2022 April 20, “Network News: MPs pursue updates on progress of National Rail Contracts”, in RAIL, number 955, page 17
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 头波, 弓形波
- 头波a wave coming off the bow of a ship as it moves through the water
- 弓形波a wave coming off the bow of a ship as it moves through the water
Danish bovbølge
- bovbølgea wave coming off the bow of a ship as it moves through the water
Dutch boeggolf
- boeggolfa wave coming off the bow of a ship as it moves through the water
German Bugwelle
- Bugwellea wave coming off the bow of a ship as it moves through the water
Māori piha, pihapiha
- pihaa wave coming off the bow of a ship as it moves through the water
- pihapihaa wave coming off the bow of a ship as it moves through the water
Cite this entry
bow wave. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bow%20wave
“bow wave.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bow%20wave. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bow wave,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bow%20wave.
Source: bow wave on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.