woke
Americanverb
adjective
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having or marked by an active awareness of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those involving the treatment of ethnic, racial, or sexual minorities: He took one African American history class and now he thinks he’s woke.
In light of incidents of police brutality, it’s important to stay woke.
He took one African American history class and now he thinks he’s woke.
This generation of kids is trying to make woke choices in life.
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Disparaging. as used by political opponents, of or relating to a liberal progressive orthodoxy.
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Slang. aware of the facts, true situation, etc. (sometimes used facetiously).
Stay woke—always read a contract before you sign it, and know your rights.
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awake.
I had to drink lots of coffee this morning to stay woke.
verb
Usage
What else does woke mean? Woke means being conscious of racial discrimination in society and other forms of oppression and injustice. In mainstream use, woke can also more generally describe someone or something as being "with it."
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of woke
First recorded before 900 as past tense woke ( for def. 1 ); 1960–65 woke ( for defs. 2, 4 ), popularized by the Black civil rights movement and later by Black Lives Matter
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As soon as he woke up after surgery, the first thing he did was ask his wife to get him a KFC.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
"When I woke up in the morning we were almost alone in the city because the city has been evacuated and I'm still here," she said.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
I woke up early, stretched out my arms and was happy to be alone with the whole day ahead of me with no plans.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Tadeh Ghazalian woke up on Thursday morning and scrolled Instagram, where he saw a video of a broken water main and a deluge of water spilling onto the street — right by his restaurant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2026
I had to suspend my wonder as Seth’s cough woke Yao and he began barking orders for us to get up and start work.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
