Meanings
nounno wave (uncountable)
- uncountableentertainmentA broad musical and artistic movement originating in the mid-1970s in New York City, typified by experimentation and performance art.
To dream that tall, mean, vegan Jeff, in turtlenecks and chinos like Sterling Morrison, was the only one I talked to at all the no wave shows I went to alone.
2020, “Jinx”, in Timmy's Unbuttoned Gen X Meditations, performed by Good Fuck
Origin
A punning rejection of the more commercial new wave movement.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
no wave. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20wave
MLA
“no wave.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20wave. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “no wave,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/no%20wave.
Source: no wave on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.