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standing wave 1. A wave that remains stationary in a moving fluid. 2. A stationary undulation of the horizontal airflow that develops downwind of a large obstacle. Clouds are sometimes formed as standing waves wherein the cloud is formed on an updraft and then evaporated on a following downdraft. Standing wave is also one type of tide-current relation wherein the tidal wave reflects from the end of the basin in such a manner as to leave the surface of the tidal basin in the form of a standing wave.

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