ache

[ eyk ]

/ eɪk /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for: ache / ached / aching on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object), ached, ach·ing.

to have or suffer a continuous, dull pain: His whole body ached.

to feel great sympathy, pity, or the like: Her heart ached for the starving animals.

to feel eager; yearn; long: She ached to be the champion. He's just aching to get even.

noun

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

OTHER WORDS FOR ache

1 hurt.

See synonyms for ache on Thesaurus.com

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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.

synonym study for ache

4. See pain.

Words nearby ache

Achaemenid, achalasia, Achan, acharya, Achates, ache, Achebe, Achebe, Chinua, Achelous, achene, Achernar

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ache in a sentence

As a now-firmly middle-aged person with the aches that entails, crossovers are easy to get into and out of than low-slung cars.
The Mazda CX-30 Turbo: How I learned to love the crossover|Jonathan M. Gitlin|February 9, 2021|Ars Technica
Bonnie Lippe figured the aches and fever she and others in her tour group were experiencing was related to the rich food or the drinking water.
900,000 infected. Nearly 15,000 dead. How the coronavirus tore through D.C., Maryland and Virginia.|Rebecca Tan, Antonio Olivo, John D. Harden|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
Families could safely spend holidays together again if the worst-case scenario shifted from being put on a ventilator or dying to possible fever and body aches.
Here’s why vaccines can end our covid nightmare|Leana Wen|February 5, 2021|Washington Post
Low-effort and gentle on the stomach, it’s embraced as a go-to for belly aches, colds, or days of general discomfort.
Congee Is the Ultimate Comfort Food|Jenny G. Zhang|February 1, 2021|Eater

Its dense EPP foam was made to smooth away aches and pains, and that’s exactly what it does.
This Is the Foam Roller My Family Fights Over|Abigail Wise|January 27, 2021|Outside Online
He was a magician, an invisible teller of tales with the power to make my sides ache without telling a single joke.
When Your Comic Hero Is an Alleged Rapist|Doug McIntyre|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Around 3am, my spindly legs are beginning to ache from balancing on deck, as we heel with each tack.
Inside Sailing’s Biggest Race|Lizzie Crocker|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But the ache got worse and worse and the next time I fell I couldn't pick him up again, so I dragged him home by the leg.
The Stacks: A Dog Dies, a Boy Grows Up|Pete Dexter|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I moved him from one shoulder to the other, trying to get rid of the ache in the muscles.
The Stacks: A Dog Dies, a Boy Grows Up|Pete Dexter|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thinking about some problems is so hard that it can make your head ache just thinking about thinking about them.
Is the Brain No Different From a Light Switch? The Uncomfortable Ideas of the Philosopher Daniel Dennett|Jonathan Weiner|May 19, 2013|DAILY BEAST
And a rampant ache in my head, seconded by a medium-sized gash in the scalp, didn't make for an access of optimism at that moment.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
It sent a pleasant tingle through his veins and made that injured arm of his ache again.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy
She was very glib with the sheep and the geese, but the grindstone made her head ache, and she gave it up.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
I could bear it if I were the only one, but to think that I must make somebodys heart ache as mine does!
Tessa Wadsworth's Discipline|Jennie M. Drinkwater
Oh, how it makes a poor fellow's back ache, to stoop down and weed onions for half a day.
Mike Marble|Uncle Frank

British Dictionary definitions for ache

ache

/ (eɪk) /

verb (intr)

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

to suffer mental anguish

noun

a continuous dull pain

Derived forms of ache

aching, adjectiveachingly, adverb

Word Origin for ache

Old English ācan (vb), æce (n), Middle English aken (vb), ache (n). Compare bake, batch

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ache

OTHER WORDS FOR ache

Origin of ache

synonym study for ache

Words nearby ache

Words related to ache

How to use ache in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ache

Derived forms of ache

Word Origin for ache