Increase and decrease, as in size, number, strength, or intensity, as in Enrollments in these programs wax and wane from year to year. This expression alludes to the phases of the moon, with its periodic changes in size.

What does the phrase waxing and waning mean?

Waxing means it's getting bigger while waning means it's getting smaller. “So, you've got to look at this whole process,” he said. “It takes about 29 and a half days for the moon to go all the way around the earth—that's why you can have two full moons in the same month.”

How do you use wax and wane in a sentence?

(1) The moon waxes and wanes every month. (2) Don't make oaths lightly to the moon, for it is always waxing and waning. (3) Interest in the show has waxed and waned. (4) Throughout history empires have waxed and waned.