ache
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to have or suffer a continuous, dull pain.
His whole body ached.
- Synonyms:
- hurt
-
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
verb
-
to feel, suffer, or be the source of a continuous dull pain
-
to suffer mental anguish
noun
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That she is the mother of one of morning TV’s most beloved personalities adds an ache to our empathy.
From Salon
Ignoring the aching feeling that I’m losing my best friends, I leave Lily with Camille and stride confidently out the front door.
From Literature
He had lain on his bed for quite a time, not really thinking about anything, aware only of a dull ache in his chest.
From Literature
Then I yelled, “You stupid old tree!” and I kicked its trunk as hard as I could so my foot ached something fierce, but I didn’t even whimper.
From Literature
He surfaced, sputtering, shoulder aching, his arm going numb.
From Literature
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.
