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Glite Dictionary
to ride the wave

to ride the wave

3 4.2
To use a current trend or chance while it lasts to get advantage
  • idiom
translation icon : aprovechar la ola
  • Goodrich elevated her game in March, and the Jayhawks rode the wave to a Sweet 16 appearance before bowing out to Tennessee.
  • riding the wave of popularity

The other two, quite frankly, strike me as more of, you know, local prosecutors that are trying to ride the wave.

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Examples

  • You just need to ride the wave and let him reach his own conclusions in his own time.

    Blog text (18)

  • Fast forward to today, where Nintendo is riding the wave of their most successful home gaming console, the Wii, by following it up with something they hope is an even bigger hit, the Wii U.

    Blog text (4)

  • Going forward, however, ride the wave as far as it will go.

    Blog text (30)

  • "We'll be there to ride the wave."

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Sometimes you have to ride the wave.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • All I do is ride the wave.

    Blog text (4)

  • But yeah, if you ride the wave long enough, the tide always turns.

    Film Courage

  • OK, the point is that saving early lets you ride the wave of compounding for many many years.

  • She's totally ahead of the curve, riding the wave of the future.

    Blog text (22)

  • The couple seems happy to ride the wave of attention wherever it deposits them.

Synonyms

to jump on the bandwagon
vsto ride the wave
  • Informal
20 5.0

To start doing something popular because many others do it, often to get an advantage

is about using a growing movement rather than merely following others for benefit
to seize the opportunity
vsto ride the wave
10 3.9

Act quickly to use a good chance

focuses on taking advantage of a growing trend rather than any chance
to strike while the iron is hot
vsto ride the wave
  • Informal
3 4.7

Do something quickly to use a good chance before it ends

applies to ongoing trends and movements rather than single short-lived chances
to catch a wave
vsto ride the wave
  • Informal
6.9

To use a rising trend or new interest to grow quickly

focuses on timing, using a growing movement while it lasts
to ride the wave of popularity
vsto ride the wave
5.4

To gain from a sudden rise in public interest

applies to any growing trend rather than only public attention
to bounce on
vsto ride the wave
  • Informal
7.2

Act quickly to take an opportunity before others do

emphasizes timing within a trend rather than mere speed or eagerness

Antonyms

to miss an opportunity
14 2.8

Fail to use a chance to do something you want

to buck the trend
3 6.9

To do something different from what most people do

How Opportunistic

to exploit
95 4.1
to jump on the bandwagon
  • Informal
20 5.0
to ride the wave
3 4.2

Surface Forms

ride the wave infinitive
riding the wave present participle
rides the wave third person singular
rode the wave past
ridden the wave past participle

Morphology

ride + the + wave

The sense 'take advantage of a growing trend' is a clear metaphorical extension of the literal image 'ride' + 'wave' (as in surfing), so a learner who knows the constituents could plausibly infer a related meaning. However, this requires mapping a physical action onto an abstract social/temporal pattern and is not strictly compositional or fully predictable without exposure, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Ride the wave comes from the image of a surfer who rides a big wave, using the wave's power to move forward and not knowing when it will end. So, to ride the wave means 'to take advantage of a trend or chance while it lasts'.