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wake1

Pronunciation: /weɪk/
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Definition of wake

verb (past woke /wəʊk/ or US, dialect, or archaic waked; past participle woken /ˈwəʊk(ə)n/ or US, dialect, or archaic waked)

  • 1emerge or cause to emerge from sleep; stop sleeping: [no object]:she woke up feeling better [with object]:I woke him gently
  • [no object] (wake up to) become alert to or aware of:he needs to wake up to reality
  • [with object] cause to stir or come to life:his voice wakes desire in others
  • 2 [with object] Irish or North American dialect hold a vigil beside (someone who has died):we waked Jim last night

noun

  • 1a watch or vigil held beside the body of someone who has died, sometimes accompanied by ritual observances: he was attending a friend’s wake
  • (especially in Ireland) a party held after a funeral.
  • 2 (wakes) [treated as singular] an annual festival and holiday held in some parts of northern England, originally one held in a rural parish on the feast day of the patron saint of the church: his workers absented themselves for the local wakes [as modifier]:wakes weeks
    [probably from Old Norse vaka]

Phrases

wake up and smell the coffee

[usually in imperative] informal, chiefly North American become aware of the realities of a situation, however unpleasant: keep an eye on your friends, who may be using you—wake up and smell the coffee!

Derivatives

waker

noun

Origin:

Old English (recorded only in the past tense wōc), also partly from the weak verb wacian 'remain awake, hold a vigil', of Germanic origin; related to Dutch waken and German wachen; compare with watch

wake in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of wake in the US English dictionary

Nearby words

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