English Dictionary

Definition of “wake”

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1wake1 (weɪkPronunciation for wake1) 

Definitions

verb

Word forms: wakes, waking, woke, woken
  1. (often foll by up) to rouse or become roused from sleep
  2. (often foll by up) to rouse or become roused from inactivity
  3. (intr; often foll by to or up to) to become conscious or aware  ⇒ at last he woke to the situation 
  4. (intr) to be or remain awake
  5. (tr) to arouse (feelings etc)
  6. dialect to hold a wake over (a corpse)
  7. archaic or dialect to keep watch over
  8. See wake up and smell the coffee

noun

  1. a watch or vigil held over the body of a dead person during the night before burial
  2. (in Ireland) festivities held after a funeral
  3. the patronal or dedication festival of English parish churches
  4. a solemn or ceremonial vigil
  5. (usually plural) an annual holiday in any of various towns in northern England, when the local factory or factories close, usually for a week or two weeks
  6. rare the state of being awake

Alternative Forms

ˈwaker noun

Word Origin

Old English wacian;  related to Old Frisian wakia,  Old High German wahtēn

2wake2 (weɪkPronunciation for wake2) 

Definitions

noun

  1. the waves or track left by a vessel or other object moving through water
  2. the track or path left by anything that has passed  ⇒ wrecked houses in the wake of the hurricane 

Word Origin

C16: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse vaka, vök  hole cut in ice, Swedish vak,  Danish vaage;  perhaps related to Old Norse vökr,  Middle Dutch wak wet

Usage examples

  • The biker was long gone, unaware of the carnage he'd left in his wake.
    Val McDermid, THE LAST TEMPTATION (2002)
  • Both research groups say that biologists must wake up to the fact that endocrine disruptors might explain bizarre behaviour in wild animals.
    New Scientist (2004)
  • Transport stocks moved higher in the wake of well-received numbers from National Express.
    Irish Times (2002)
  • I'm sleeping, and dreaming about horns, a strange, bizarre dream from which I finally struggle to wake.
    Glasgow Herald (2001)
  • In his view, the dead will literally wake up to enjoy a kingdom of God on earth ruled over by Christ.
    Peter Stanford, HEAVEN: A Traveller's Guide to the Undiscovered Country (2002)

Commonness

All English words that begin with 'W'

Related Terms

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