wake
Verbwakes, waking, woke, woken
Noun pluralwakes
Formswakes, waking, woke, woken
Pluralwakes
- 1To stop sleeping, or to make someone stop sleeping.
Like a flower opening when the morning sun comes up.
I usually wake before my alarm goes off.
The baby wakes whenever the dog barks.
UsageOften wake up. The past is woke: I woke up at six.
Oppositesleep
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- 2The space just behind something moving fast. It also means the time just after an event, and what it causes.
Like the rush of air that follows close behind a fast bike.
The cyclists rode close in the leader's wake to save energy.
Many small shops closed in the wake of the flood.
UsageSay in someone's wake: reporters followed in her wake.
Note
- 3The waves or moving air left behind something like a boat, animal or plane as it moves.
Like the flattened line left in tall grass when someone walks through a field.
Ducklings paddled along in the boat's wake.
We watched the ferry's wake spread out behind it.
UsageA boat leaves a wake behind it.
- 4A gathering held after someone dies, where people come together to remember the person.
Like a get-together to say goodbye to someone who has died.
They held a wake for their grandfather at the family home.
Half the village came to the wake to share stories.
UsageYou go to a wake.
Similarvigil
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- 5
- 6The act of becoming awake, or being awake instead of asleep.
Singing her flatteries to my morning wake.
1677, John Dryden, All for LoveHere, wake means waking up, so when I wake in the morning.Making such difference 'twixt wake and sleep.
c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth,”Here, wake means being awake, as opposed to being asleep.Note
Less common meanings
- 7To stay awake at night beside a dead body, as a way of honoring it.
Like sitting quietly beside someone all night to keep them company, even after they have died.
The family will wake their grandfather tonight before the burial.
By custom, neighbors came to wake the old man in his front parlor.
UsageThe past is waked.
Similarwatch
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- 8A group of vultures gathered together in one place.
Like calling a group of wolves a pack: vultures get their own group name.
A wake of vultures settled over the carcass at noon.
We watched a wake of vultures gather on the fence posts.
UsageSay a wake of vultures.
- 9A yearly village festival once held to mark the founding of a church, with prayers and feasting.
Like a town fair held each year to celebrate the local church.
In old England, each parish held a yearly wake for its church's special day.
And every village smokes at wakes with lusty cheer.
1612, Michael Drayton, Poly-OlbionHere, wakes means yearly village church festivals with feasting and fun.Note
- 10To stay up late at night to celebrate and have fun.
The king doth wake to-night, and takes his rouse, Keeps wassail, and the swaggering upspring reels.
c. 1599, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”Here, wake means stay up late at night partying and drinking.Note
- 11To stay awake instead of sleeping, often to watch over something.
The father waketh for the daughter when no man knoweth, and the care for her taketh away sleepe;
1611, The Holy Bible, King James Version - 12A time when people stay awake on purpose, often for a serious or special reason.
The wood nymphs, deckt with daises trim, Their merry wakes and pastimes keep.
1634, [John Milton], A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle
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Origins
This comes from two old English verbs that meant to wake, which later blended together.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Wake derives from two Old English verbs. en.wiktionary.org
- Both ancestral verbs meant to wake. lrc.la.utexas.edu
- The ancestral verbs later blended together. en.wiktionary.org
From an Old English word wacu, related to the verb meaning to wake.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Wake derives from Old English wacu. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English wacu is related to the verb *wakjaną. en.wiktionary.org
- The related verb means to wake. en.wiktionary.org
English probably took this word from wake in Middle Low German or Middle Dutch. It is linked to an Old Norse word for a hole in the ice, which comes from an old root meaning "wet."