wake

1 of 3

verb

woke ˈwōk How to pronounce wake (audio) also waked wākt How to pronounce wake (audio) ; woken ˈwō-kən How to pronounce wake (audio) or waked also woke; waking

intransitive verb

1
a
: to be or remain awake
b
archaic : to remain awake on watch especially over a corpse
c
obsolete : to stay up late in revelry
2
: awake, wake up
They woke early.

transitive verb

1
: to stand watch over (someone or something)
especially : to hold a wake over
2
a
: to rouse from or as if from sleep : awake, wake up
Something woke her in the middle of the night.
b
: stir, excite
an experience that woke old feelings
c
: to arouse conscious interest in : alert
usually used with to
woke the public to the risks
waker noun

wake

2 of 3

noun (1)

1
: the state of being awake
2
a(1)
: an annual English parish festival formerly held in commemoration of the church's patron saint
b
: the festivities originally connected with the wake of an English parish church
usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction
c
British : an annual holiday or vacation
usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction
3
: a watch held over the body of a dead person prior to burial and sometimes accompanied by festivity

wake

3 of 3

noun (2)

1
: the track left by a moving body (such as a ship) in a fluid (such as water)
broadly : a track or path left
2
Phrases
in the wake of
1
: close behind and in the same path of travel
missionaries arrived in the wake of conquistadors and soldiersSabine MacCormack
2
: as a result of : as a consequence of
power vacuums left in the wake of the second world warA. M. Schlesinger born 1917

Examples of wake in a Sentence

Verb She can never remember her dreams upon waking. my banging around in the kitchen woke my wife
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The pilot in command fell asleep and woke just under an hour later. Jennifer Hassan, Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2024 The annual event celebrating the worst that Hollywood had to offer in the previous year was swept by the public domain waking nightmare, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, winning five Golden Raspberries. Lester Fabian Brathwaite, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2024 Most of these light settings are for aesthetic purposes, but Kahn says a sunrise alarm clock with a red light option may be more helpful at waking you up than other colored light settings. Adria Greenhauff, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Mar. 2024 Guests can sleep and wake to desert views in the property's adobe homes. Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 7 Mar. 2024 California Huntington Beach is sticking it to ‘woke’ California. Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 Getting enough rest can be difficult, but adjusting your nightly routine can help — starting with establishing consistent sleep and wake times, and a dark, cool and quiet environment. Kristen Rogers, CNN, 5 Mar. 2024 This will turn out to be just a dream Dick’s having in jail, but his waking life looks hardly less fanciful. Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter, 1 Mar. 2024 Builders can flip the bed to wake Mirabel up, spin the chimney to change the weather, and twist the shutters. Toni Sutton, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024
Noun
Glazer’s speech and the reactions highlight a growing divide in Hollywood that erupted in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel. Tatiana Siegel, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024 Meraz pointed out that 18 months ago, in the wake of the audio leak scandal, many political groups called for De León to step down. David Zahniser, Los Angeles Times, 13 Mar. 2024 After spending weeks breathlessly questioning President Joe Biden’s mental faculties in the wake of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s explosive report, some of America’s top news organizations on Tuesday effectively stated that Hur’s characterization of the commander-in-chief was off base. Oliver Darcy, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 About 15,000 of these troops were deployed to the region as part of a temporary surge in the wake of October 7, before which the United States maintained around 30,000 troops. Daniel Byman, Foreign Affairs, 12 Mar. 2024 Violence has been spreading in Gaza since the Hamas-run government withdrew its local police force from the streets in the wake of an Israeli attack last month that killed 11 officers, including a senior commander, who were accompanying U.N. trucks carrying aid to northern Gaza. Taylor Luck, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2024 In the wake of the Alaska incident, even minor incidents involving Boeing planes have drawn outsize attention. Lori Aratani, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024 Growth had flatlined at the startup, which made its money by taking a small cut when a project on its platform met a funding threshold, and its onetime feel-good culture had become toxic in the wake of a bitter unionization drive. Byallie Garfinkle, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2024 Gun violence prevention:Michigan has new laws, gun safety advocates want to see more Michigan Democrats eye ghost gun restrictions Last year, Michigan Democrats passed new gun safety laws in the wake of the deadly shooting at Michigan State University. Detroit Free Press, 12 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wake.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

partly from Middle English waken (past wook, past participle waken), from Old English wacan to awake (past wōc, past participle wacen); partly from Middle English wakien, waken (past & past participle waked), from Old English wacian to be awake (past wacode, past participle wacod); akin to Old English wæccan to watch, Latin vegēre to enliven

Noun (2)

akin to Middle Low German wake wake, Norwegian dialect vok, Old Norse vǫk hole in ice

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wake was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near wake

Cite this Entry

“Wake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wake. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wake

1 of 3 verb
woke ˈwōk How to pronounce wake (audio) also waked ˈwākt How to pronounce wake (audio) ; woken ˈwō-kən How to pronounce wake (audio) or waked also woke; waking
1
: to be or remain awake
2
: to stand watch over (as a dead body)
especially : to hold a wake over
3
: to arouse from or as if from sleep : awake
often used with up
waker noun

wake

2 of 3 noun
: a time before a dead person is buried when people gather to remember him or her and often to view the body

wake

3 of 3 noun
1
: a track or path left by a moving body (as a ship) in the water
2
Etymology

Verb

from Old English wacan "to awake" and Old English wacian "to be awake"

Noun

of Germanic origin

More from Merriam-Webster on wake

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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