in the wake of
Idioms-
Following directly on, as in In the wake of the procession, a number of small children came skipping down the aisle . This usage alludes to the waves made behind a passing vessel. [c. 1800]
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In the aftermath of, as a consequence of, as in Famine often comes in the wake of war . [Mid-1800s]
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.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday indicated that his department could make additional moves in the wake of its announcement that it would at least double the size of its buybacks of longer-dated Treasury bonds.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
He said the weirdest conspiracy theory he’d heard in the wake of the shooting was that he’s a government plant.
From Slate ● Aug. 20, 2026
HelloFresh used to get some ready-to-heat meals from FreshRealm but ended that relationship in the wake of the listeria problems, said a HelloFresh spokeswoman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Panettiere’s high school hero emerged on TV during the “sheroes” era of the aughts, arriving in the wake of Sydney Bristow on “Alias” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” another cheerleader turned supernatural brawler.
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
We were having an absurd and inappropriate argument because in the wake of death every single thing on earth feels absurd and inappropriate.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
