wake
verb (used without object)
to become roused from sleep; awake; awaken; waken (often followed byup ).
had been waking
-
past perfect progressiveof wake.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
She shares that Joe had been waking up repeatedly at night during their last year in the White House.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 1, 2026
Ms Kennedy said officers had been waking up with panic attacks and were in "disbelief" that none of their colleagues had been killed.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2024
Yes, surely, I had been asleep and had woke up; but no! if I had been asleep I had been waking in my sleep, struggling, striving, learning and unlearning in my sleep.
From George Borrow and His Circle Wherein May Be Found Many Hitherto Unpublished Letters Of Borrow And His Friends by Shorter, Clement King
Jane Hunter sat suddenly up in her bed, golden hair in a shower about her shoulders, blue eyes that had been waking and painful until dawn, filled with tears.
From The Last Straw by Titus, Harold
He had been waking for hours, and the walls of his narrow lodging had been a prison to his heart.
From The Blue Flower by Van Dyke, Henry
