ache

American  

[eyk] / eɪk /

verb (used without object)

ached, aching

1. to have or suffer a continuous, dull pain.

   His whole body ached.

   Synonyms:

   hurt

2. to feel great sympathy, pity, or the like.

   Her heart ached for the starving animals.

3. to feel eager; yearn; long.

   She ached to be the champion. He's just aching to get even.

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noun

1. a continuous, dull pain (in contrast to a sharp, sudden, or sporadic pain).

ache British  

/ eɪk /

verb

1. to feel, suffer, or be the source of a continuous dull pain

2. to suffer mental anguish

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noun

1. a continuous dull pain

Related Words

See pain.

Other Word Forms

• aching adjective
• achingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of ache

before 900; (v.) Middle English aken, Old English acan; perhaps metaphoric use of earlier unattested sense “drive, impel” (compare Old Norse aka, cognate with Latin agere, Greek ágein ); (noun) derivative of the v.

Example Sentences

“What had been incredibly futuristic and achingly modern just moments ago,” he writes, “had transitioned to something almost banal within the space of a single ride.”

From The Wall Street Journal

This isn’t bro country; it’s songs for aching hearts, for dreamers, for the lovelorn, steeped in pop, rock, Tejano and Mariachi.

From Salon

When Carman has tried to reduce her dose, she said, her body aches, she feels desperately tired and she becomes disoriented.

From The Wall Street Journal

For the next three nights, Diane’s husband complained to her of aches in his muscles and head.

From The Wall Street Journal

I use cruise control as often as possible not just to maintain a constant speed but to save my aging legs from aches and pains.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• anguish
• misery
• pang
• soreness
• spasm
• twinge