standing wave

noun

A wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium in such a way that the reflected wave coincides with the produced wave. A common example is the vibration of the strings on a musical stringed instrument.

Similar
fixed wavestationary wavepermanent wave
Opposite
travelling wave
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounstanding wave (plural standing waves)

plural standing waves

  1. natural sciencesA wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium in such a way that the reflected wave coincides with the produced wave. A common example is the vibration of the strings on a musical stringed instrument.

    Synonyms: fixed wave, stationary wave, permanent wave

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium in such a way that the reflected wave coincides with the produced wave. A common example is the vibration of the strings on a musical stringed instrument.

Similar
fixed wavestationary wavepermanent wave
Opposite
travelling wave

More synonyms by meaning

nouna wave (as a sound wave in a chamber or an electromagnetic wave in a transmission line) in which the ratio of its instantaneous amplitude at one point to that at any other point does not vary with time

Similar
stationary wave
Broader
waveundulation
Also see
stationary wave

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 駐波 /驻波
  • 駐波 /驻波 (zhùbō)a wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
Finnish seisova aalto
  • seisova aaltoa wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
French onde stationnaire
  • onde stationnairea wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
German stehende Welle, Stehwelle
  • stehende Wellea wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
  • Stehwellea wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
Greek στάσιμο κύμα
  • στάσιμο κύμα (stásimo kýma)a wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
Hungarian állóhullám
  • állóhulláma wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
Japanese 定常波
  • 定常波 (teijōha)a wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
Korean 정상파
  • 정상파 (jeongsangpa)a wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
Polish fala stojąca
  • fala stojącaa wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
Russian стоя́чая волна́
  • стоя́чая волна́ (stojáčaja volná)a wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
Swedish stående våg
  • stående våga wave form which occurs in a limited, fixed medium
Cite this entry
APA

standing wave. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/standing%20wave

MLA

“standing wave.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/standing%20wave. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “standing wave,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/standing%20wave.

Source: standing wave on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.