undulates

Undulates is the third-person singular present tense of the verb undulate, meaning to move with a smooth, wave-like motion, or to cause such motion. The noun undulation refers to this wave-like movement or to a wave-like form. The adjective undulate describes something having a wavy appearance or surface. The word derives from Latin undulus, meaning little wave, from unda, wave.

In biology, undulation describes locomotion produced by bending the body in a wave-like manner. Many aquatic animals rely on undulatory movement to swim, including snakes and eels that use lateral or whole-body undulations, and some fish that ripple their bodies or fins. Undulation can also describe the propagation of wave-like motion along appendages such as flagella in microorganisms.

In botany, undulate margins describe leaves with a wavy edge, while an undulate surface has a gentle ridge-and-valley texture. In geography, terrain described as undulating has a smooth sequence of hills and troughs; an undulating plain is characterized by repeated rises and falls in elevation.

In architecture and design, undulating forms are used to create dynamic surfaces, influence acoustics, or guide flows of air or water. In physics and materials science, the term appears in reference to wave patterns on surfaces or within media, such as light, water, or granular materials.

See also undulation, wave, ripple, margin, locomotion.