wax
1 (wăks)
[Middle English, from Old English weax.]
noun
- Any of various natural, oily or greasy heat-sensitive substances, consisting of hydrocarbons or esters of fatty acids that are insoluble in water but soluble in nonpolar organic solvents.
- Beeswax.
- Cerumen.
- A solid plastic or pliable liquid substance, such as ozocerite or paraffin, originating from petroleum and found in rock layers and used in paper coating, as insulation, in crayons, and often in medicinal preparations.
- A preparation containing wax used for polishing floors and other surfaces.
- A resinous mixture used by shoemakers to rub on thread.
- A phonograph record.
- Something suggestive of wax in being impressionable or readily molded.
adjective
- Made of wax: a wax candle.
transitive verb: waxed, wax·ing, wax·es.
- To coat, treat, or polish with wax.
- Informal To make a phonograph record of.
idioms
- on wax
- In the medium of phonograph recordings.
wax
2 (wăks)
[Middle English waxen, from Old English weaxan.]
intransitive verb: waxed, wax·ing, wax·es.
- To increase gradually in size, number, strength, or intensity.
- To show a progressively larger illuminated area, as the moon does in passing from new to full.
- To grow or become as specified: “could afford … to wax sentimental over their heritage” (John Simon)
