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⇱ wake - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

wake

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UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈweɪk/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/weɪk/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(wāk)

Inflections of 'wake' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
wakes
v 3rd person singular
waking
v pres p
woke
v past
woken
v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
wake1 /weɪk/USA pronunciation   v., waked or woke/woʊk/USA pronunciation  waked or wok•en/ˈwoʊkən/USA pronunciation  wak•ing, n. 
v. 
  1. to (cause to) become roused from sleep;
    awake: [no object;
    (~ + up)]    to wake (up) from a nightmare.[~ + object (+  up)]The noise woke him (up).[~ (+ up) + object]Please wake (up) the children.
  2. to (cause to) become aware of something: [no object]You'd better wake (up) to what they're doing to you.[~ + object (+ up)]The energy crisis woke us (up) to the need for conservation.[~ (+ up) + object]The crisis failed to wake (up) the public.

n. [countable]
  1. (in some religious traditions) a vigil held in the presence of the body of a dead person before burial.

wake2 /weɪk/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. Naval Termsthe track of waves left by a moving ship or boat.
  2. the path or course of something that has passed or gone before:The hurricane left devastation in its wake.
Idioms
  1. Idioms in the wake of:
    • Idiomsas a result of:In the wake of the snowstorm the schools closed.
    • close behind:Settlers followed in the wake of the pioneers.


WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
wake1  (wāk),USA pronunciation v., waked or woke, waked or wok•en, wak•ing, n. 
v.i. 
    1. to become roused from sleep;
      awake;
      awaken;
      waken (often fol. by up).
    2. to become roused from a tranquil or inactive state;
      awaken;
      waken:to wake from one's daydreams.
    3. to become cognizant or aware of something;
      awaken;
      waken:to wake to the true situation.
    4. to be or continue to be awake:Whether I wake or sleep, I think of you.
    5. to remain awake for some purpose, duty, etc.:I will wake until you return.
    6. to hold a wake over a corpse.
    7. to keep watch or vigil.

    v.t. 
    1. to rouse from sleep;
      awake;
      awaken;
      waken (often fol. by up):Don't wake me for breakfast. Wake me up at six o'clock.
    2. to rouse from lethargy, apathy, ignorance, etc. (often fol. by up):The tragedy woke us up to the need for safety precautions.
    3. to hold a wake for or over (a dead person).
    4. to keep watch or vigil over.

    n. 
    1. a watching, or a watch kept, esp. for some solemn or ceremonial purpose.
    2. a watch or vigil by the body of a dead person before burial, sometimes accompanied by feasting or merrymaking.
    3. a local annual festival in England, formerly held in honor of the patron saint or on the anniversary of the dedication of a church but now usually having little or no religious significance.
    4. the state of being awake:between sleep and wake.
    • Gmc *wak- be lively; akin to watch, vegetable, vigil
    • bef. 900; (verb, verbal) in sense "to become awake'' continuing Middle English waken, Old English *wacan (found only in past tense wōc and the compounds onwacan, āwacan to become awake; see awake (verb, verbal)); 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, probably altered by association with the other senses and with the k of Old Norse vaka; (noun, nominal) Middle English: state of wakefulness, vigil (late Middle English: vigil over a dead body), probably continuing Old English *wacu (found only in nihtwacu night-watch); all ultimately
    wak′er, n. 
      8. arouse. 9. stimulate, activate, animate, kindle, provoke.
      1. sleep.
wake2  (wāk),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Naval Termsthe track of waves left by a ship or other object moving through the water:The wake of the boat glowed in the darkness.
  2. the path or course of anything that has passed or preceded:The tornado left ruin in its wake.
  3. in the wake of:
    • as a result of:An investigation followed in the wake of the scandal.
    • succeeding;
      following:in the wake of the pioneers.
  • Middle Low German, Dutch wake, or Old Norse vǫk hole in the ice
  • 1540–50

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
wake /weɪk/ vb (wakes, waking, woke, woken)
  1. (often followed by up) to rouse or become roused from sleep
  2. (often followed by up) to rouse or become roused from inactivity
  3. (intransitive; often followed by to or up to) to become conscious or aware: at last he woke to the situation
  4. (intransitive) to be or remain awake
  5. (transitive) to arouse (feelings, etc)
 n
  1. a watch or vigil held over the body of a dead person during the night before burial
  2. (in Ireland) festivities held after a funeral
  3. the patronal or dedication festival of English parish churches
  4. a solemn or ceremonial vigil
  5. (usually plural) an annual holiday in any of various towns in northern England, when the local factory or factories close, usually for a week or two weeks
Etymology: Old English wacian; related to Old Frisian wakia, Old High German wahtēnˈwaker n USAGE
wake /weɪk/ n
  1. the waves or track left by a vessel or other object moving through water
  2. the track or path left by anything that has passed: wrecked houses in the wake of the hurricane
Etymology: 16th Century: 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
'wake' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Collocations: in the wake of the [disaster, war, election, news], wake up [early, in the morning], the [storm, hurricane, tornado] left [death, devastation, destruction] in its wake, more...

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "wake" in the title:

; (there is?) the uncertain pace of the hours when I would wake ....
... wouldn't wake me up
...the early morning kind, <where> they wake up and cannot get back to sleep
'She hums in his wake, the great man's wife
'wake of merger' vs 'wave of merger'
a cocktail of travel lies in her wake
A wake
A wake - Australian
A wake-up of my masterpiece
a wake-up/morning call
After you wake up / after you have waken up
Are you just wake up？
as though he <would wake> from an evil dream
at his wake
at the wake
At what time/what time so you wake up every day?
auto-wake
Awake or wake up?
awake wake
But when you wake up
champagne wake
Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling and Wake
crank up the AC in the car beforehand to wake up the girls
Cut a nice wake
death and disease had followed [in her wake]
Difficult line in Joyce's "Finnegan's Wake"
divorce her as a wake-up call
Don’t wake up your brother
dropped off to wake
due to early wake-up
more...

Look up "wake" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "wake" at dictionary.com
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