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wake
1[ weyk ]
/ weɪk /
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verb (used without object), waked or woke [wohk], /woʊk/, waked or wok·en [woh-kuhn], /ˈwoʊ kən/, wak·ing.
verb (used with object), waked or woke [wohk], /woʊk/, waked or wok·en [woh-kuhn], /ˈwoʊ kən/, wak·ing.
noun
OTHER WORDS FOR wake
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Origin of wake
1First recorded before 900; (verb) in sense “to become awake” continuing Middle English waken, Old English wacan ; in sense “to be awake” continuing Middle English waken, Old English wacian (cognate with Old Frisian wakia, Old Saxon wakōn, Old Norse vaka, Gothic wakan ); in sense “to rouse from sleep” continuing Middle English waken, replacing Middle English wecchen, Old English weccan; (noun) Middle English: “state of wakefulness, vigil,” probably continuing unattested Old English wacu (found in nihtwacu “night-watch”); all ultimately from unattested Germanic wak- “be lively”; akin to watch, vegetate;cf. waken
OTHER WORDS FROM wake
waker, nounhalf-waking, adjectiveun·waked, adjectiveun·wak·ing, adjectiveWords nearby wake
waka, Wakamatsu, wakame, Wakashan, Wakayama, wake, wakeboarding, Wakefield, wakeful, Wake Island, wakeless
Other definitions for wake (2 of 2)
wake2
[ weyk ]
/ weɪk /
noun
the track of waves left by a ship or other object moving through the water: The wake of the boat glowed in the darkness.
the path or course of anything that has passed or preceded: The tornado left ruin in its wake.
Origin of wake
2First recorded in 1540–50; from Middle Low German, Dutch wake, or Old Norse vǫk, vaka “opening or hole in the ice”
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use wake in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for wake (1 of 2)
wake1
/ (weɪk) /
verb wakes, waking, woke or woken
noun
Derived forms of wake
waker, nounWord Origin for wake
Old English wacian; related to Old Frisian wakia, Old High German wahtēn
usage for wake
Where there is an object and the sense is the literal one wake (up) and waken are the commonest forms: I wakened him; I woke him (up). Both verbs are also commonly used without an object: I woke up . Awake and awaken are preferred to other forms of wake where the sense is a figurative one: he awoke to the danger
British Dictionary definitions for wake (2 of 2)
wake2
/ (weɪk) /
noun
the waves or track left by a vessel or other object moving through water
the track or path left by anything that has passedwrecked houses in the wake of the hurricane
Word Origin for wake
C16: of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse vaka, vök hole cut in ice, Swedish vak, Danish vaage; perhaps related to Old Norse vökr, Middle Dutch wak wet
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
Cultural definitions for wake
wake
A funeral celebration, common in Ireland, at which the participants stay awake all night keeping watch over the body of the dead person before burial. A wake traditionally involves a good deal of feasting and drinking.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with wake
wake
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.