Other Word Forms
- nonwaxing adjective
Etymology
Origin of waxing
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; wax 1, -ing 1
Compare meaning
How does waxing compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Known as the Dragon Slayer, he’s often shown meditating, praying, waxing philosophical, and pontificating on nobility, integrity and honor.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2026
And they really started to change when subpar waxing cost Randall a medal at the 2014 Olympics.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 19, 2026
“Fed leaders would be well served to skip opportunities to share their latest musings. The swivel-chair problem, rhetorically waxing and waning with the latest data release, is common and counterproductive,” Warsh said last April.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 3, 2026
But it wasn't a new England, it was a "vintage" England, according to Bardsley, who was waxing lyrical by the time the fifth goal came in only the 33rd minute, sealing a treble for Beever-Jones.
From BBC • May 30, 2025
But there was no steady progress; they understood from the doctors that this was only waxing and waning.
From "Typical American" by Gish Jen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
