woke
Americanverb
adjective
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having or marked by an active awareness of systemic injustices and prejudices, especially those involving the treatment of ethnic, racial, or sexual minorities: He took one African American history class and now he thinks he’s woke.
In light of incidents of police brutality, it’s important to stay woke.
He took one African American history class and now he thinks he’s woke.
This generation of kids is trying to make woke choices in life.
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Disparaging. as used by political opponents, of or relating to a liberal progressive orthodoxy.
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Slang. aware of the facts, true situation, etc. (sometimes used facetiously).
Stay woke—always read a contract before you sign it, and know your rights.
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awake.
I had to drink lots of coffee this morning to stay woke.
verb
Usage
What else does woke mean? Woke means being conscious of racial discrimination in society and other forms of oppression and injustice. In mainstream use, woke can also more generally describe someone or something as being "with it."
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of woke
First recorded before 900 as past tense woke ( for def. 1 ); 1960–65 woke ( for defs. 2, 4 ), popularized by the Black civil rights movement and later by Black Lives Matter
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.
A Times reporter in Long Beach said it woke up them up and terrified their pet cat, which hid under a dining room table.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
“But on Tuesday, to the shock of everyone, including me, including her team, including the medical team, Christa woke up and began talking.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
A lawyer for convicted murderer Christa Pike says that she woke up in hospital "angry and confused" after she survived a botched execution attempt last week.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
"A few days ago, they ran a compressor test with a big bang... even the children who were asleep woke up in fear," said Ali, a retired paper mill worker.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
So I had a good sleep on Saturday night, but when I woke up on Sunday morning, I knew I wasn’t finished.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
