Waving your arm in front of you in a motion that resembles saying goodbye is known as what type of movement?

The movement described as waving your arm in front of you, resembling the gesture of saying goodbye, is classified as abduction. Abduction refers to the action of moving a limb or other body part away from the midline of the body. When you wave your arm, you lift it away from your side and move it outward, which clearly demonstrates this type of movement.

In contrast to abduction, adduction involves moving a limb toward the midline of the body, which is not applicable in the waving motion. Flexion refers to decreasing the angle between two body parts, such as bending the elbow or knee, while extension is the opposite, involving increasing that angle—neither of which aligns with the waving gesture. Understanding these definitions illustrates why abduction is the appropriate choice for the described motion.