wax and wane
to increase, and then to decrease
TRANSLATION
wax and wane = schwanken, kommen und gehen --- GOOGLE INDEX wax and wane: approximately 175,000 Google hits
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
While talks of a merger WAXED AND WANED, investors grew increasingly uneasy with the way the companies were being run.
(BBC News)
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Astronomers Find Giant Stars WAX AND WANE Only by Chance
(Christian Science Monitor - news headline)
(BBC News)
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Astronomers Find Giant Stars WAX AND WANE Only by Chance
(Christian Science Monitor - news headline)
Did you
know?
wax and wane
verbal phrase
- to grow stronger and then weak again
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
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"Wax" as a verb means to grow or increase in size or number, and comes from an the Old English "weaxan." It is also related to the German "wachsen", which also means to grow. There was a time when wax was used more often than grow. However, current use is nearly limited to describing how the moon takes on the appearance of being full (waxing moon). It is also used in expressions like "waxing nostalgic" (to become nostalgic).
Wane is the exact opposite of wax and means to decrease or diminish. It is from the Old English word "wanian," meaning "to lessen". Although wane is also used in reference to the moon and other planets.
Unlike wax, wane enjoys wider usage in a general sense, as in "Interest in the product has waned since last summer".
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SYNONYMS
ebb and flow, come and go, fluctuate, shift
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SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The waxing and waning of the oil price makes makes cost planning very difficult."
verbal phrase
- to grow stronger and then weak again
(Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary)
---
"Wax" as a verb means to grow or increase in size or number, and comes from an the Old English "weaxan." It is also related to the German "wachsen", which also means to grow. There was a time when wax was used more often than grow. However, current use is nearly limited to describing how the moon takes on the appearance of being full (waxing moon). It is also used in expressions like "waxing nostalgic" (to become nostalgic).
Wane is the exact opposite of wax and means to decrease or diminish. It is from the Old English word "wanian," meaning "to lessen". Although wane is also used in reference to the moon and other planets.
Unlike wax, wane enjoys wider usage in a general sense, as in "Interest in the product has waned since last summer".
---
SYNONYMS
ebb and flow, come and go, fluctuate, shift
---
SMUGGLE OWAD into today's conversation
"The waxing and waning of the oil price makes makes cost planning very difficult."
