wake

1 of 3

verb

ˈwāk 

woke ˈwōk  also waked wākt  ; woken ˈwō-kən  or waked also woke; waking

intransitive verb

1

a

: to be or remain awake

b

archaic : to remain awake on watch especially over a corpse

c

obsolete : to stay up late in revelry

2

: awake, wake up

They woke early.

transitive verb

1

: to stand watch over (someone or something)

especially : to hold a wake over

2

a

: to rouse from or as if from sleep : awake, wake up

Something woke her in the middle of the night.

b

: stir, excite

an experience that woke old feelings

c

: to arouse conscious interest in : alert

—usually used with to

woke the public to the risks

waker noun

wake

2 of 3

noun (1)

1

: the state of being awake

2

a(1)

: an annual English parish festival formerly held in commemoration of the church's patron saint

(2)

: vigil sense 3a

b

: the festivities originally connected with the wake of an English parish church

—usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction

c

British : an annual holiday or vacation

—usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction

3

: a watch held over the body of a dead person prior to burial and sometimes accompanied by festivity

wake

3 of 3

noun (2)

1

: the track left by a moving body (such as a ship) in a fluid (such as water)

broadly : a track or path left

2

: aftermath sense 3

Phrases

in the wake of

1

: close behind and in the same path of travel

missionaries arrived in the wake of conquistadors and soldiers

—Sabine MacCormack

2

: as a result of : as a consequence of

power vacuums left in the wake of the second world war

—A. M. Schlesinger born 1917

Synonyms

Verb

• arouse
• awake
• awaken
• knock up [British]
• rouse
• waken

Examples of wake in a Sentence

Verb

She can never remember her dreams upon waking.

my banging around in the kitchen woke my wife

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

An alarm woke her up, reminding her to pick up her child from day care. —Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 22 May 2024

Opinion Opinion: College students were ‘woke’ in the 60s and annoying to their elders. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2024

Being stressed with a baby who requires every moment of your waking day (and night for that matter) is normal. —Cassie Shortsleeve, Parents, 21 May 2024

There’s bad blood between Cesar and Frank going back to when the new mayor was the D.A. in charge of the murder investigation of Cesar’s wife (Haley Simms), who haunts both his dreams and his waking life. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 May 2024

The blend of ingredients reduces the appearance of puffiness and wakes the skin. —Enjanae' Taylor, Southern Living, 2 May 2024

But nothing beats the tradition of hiring mariachi bands or trios to serenade moms — sometimes early enough in the morning to wake them up! —Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 12 May 2024

That in turn creates a domino effect, waking all the other bats and making the whole colony waste precious energy. —Corey Buhay, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 May 2024

If the sunrise doesn’t wake you up in the morning, the chirping birds are there to ease you out of bed. —Ginger Perra, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 May 2024

Noun

Men’s rights groups have sprung into existence in the wake of changes in family law. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024

So at the end of April, Mr. Xi and his 23 top policymakers began to discuss the idea of taking some of those unwanted apartments off the market in a program not unlike the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which the U.S. government set up in the wake of the American housing market crash. —Alexandra Stevenson, New York Times, 24 May 2024

Now, progressive proponents are claiming victory in the wake of the Massachusetts haul. —Alena Botros, Fortune, 24 May 2024

Still, the emotional scars that are left in the wake of their cruel behavior take years for their victims to recover from. —Jasmine Elise, Essence, 24 May 2024

Ahead of Taiwan’s presidential election in January, the Chinese government reportedly embarked on a concerted campaign to sway Taiwanese voters in favor of the KMT; and in the wake of DPP’s election victory, Beijing rebuked countries who congratulated Lai. —Chad De Guzman, TIME, 23 May 2024

He's been tasked with improving standardized test scores, particularly in math and reading, and especially in the wake of the pandemic, when remote learning saw those scores decline. —Doc Louallen, ABC News, 22 May 2024

That could be particularly true in the wake of the Covid pandemic, when messenger RNA vaccines made their global debut, especially if a flu pandemic were to happen in the near term. —Helen Branswell, STAT, 22 May 2024

In the wake of Musk’s arrival, new social media platforms like Bluesky, Threads, and Spill have jockeyed for the influence and impact that X once had, but have failed to capture the Black Twitter audience, Parham says. —Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 13 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb

partly from Middle English waken (past wook, past participle waken), from Old English wacan to awake (past wōc, past participle wacen); partly from Middle English wakien, waken (past & past participle waked), from Old English wacian to be awake (past wacode, past participle wacod); akin to Old English wæccan to watch, Latin vegēre to enliven

Noun (2)

akin to Middle Low German wake wake, Norwegian dialect vok, Old Norse vǫk hole in ice

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing wake

• in someone's or something's wake
• in the wake of
• wake and bake
• wake-robin
• wake up
• wake up and smell the coffee/roses
• wake-up call

Kids Definition

wake

1 of 3 verb

ˈwāk 

woke ˈwōk  also waked ˈwākt  ; woken ˈwō-kən  or waked also woke; waking

1

: to be or remain awake

2

: to stand watch over (as a dead body)

especially : to hold a wake over

3

: to arouse from or as if from sleep : awake

—often used with up

waker noun

wake

2 of 3 noun

: a time before a dead person is buried when people gather to remember him or her and often to view the body

wake

3 of 3 noun

1

: a track or path left by a moving body (as a ship) in the water

2

: aftermath sense 2

Etymology

Verb

from Old English wacan "to awake" and Old English wacian "to be awake"

Noun

of Germanic origin