wake [wakewakeswakingwoken] verb, noun BrE [weɪk] NAmE [weɪk] verb (wokeBrE [wəʊk] ; NAmE [woʊk] wokenBrE [ˈwəʊkən] ; NAmE [ˈwoʊkən] ) 1. intransitive, transitive to stop sleeping; to make sb stop sleeping •~ (up) What time do you usually wake up in the morning? • I always wake early in the summer. •Wake up! It's eight o'clock. •~ to sth (formal)They woke to a clear blue sky. •~ from sth (formal)She had just woken from a deep sleep. •~ to do sth He woke up to find himself alone in the house. •~ sb (up) Try not to wake the baby up. •I was woken by the sound of someone moving around. 2. transitive ~ sth (literary or formal)to make sb remember sth or feel sth again •The incident woke memories of his past sufferings. Verb forms:
Word Origin: v. and n. sense 1 Old English wōc wacian ‘remain awake, hold a vigil’ Germanic Dutch waken German wachen ↑watchn. sense 2 late 15th cent. Middle Low German Old Norse vǫk vaka ‘hole or opening in ice’
Which Word?: awake / awaken / wake up / waken Wake (up) is the most common of these verbs. It can mean somebody has finished sleeping: ▪ What time do you usually wake up? or that somebody or something has disturbed your sleep: ▪ The children woke me up. ◇ ▪ I was woken (up) by the telephone. The verb awake is usually only used in writing and in the past tense awoke: ▪ She awoke to a day of brilliant sunshine. Waken and awaken are much more formal. Awaken is used especially in literature: ▪ The Prince awakened Sleeping Beauty with a kiss. Awake is also an adjective: ▪ I was awake half the night worrying. ◇ ▪ Is the baby awake yet? Waking is not used in this way. Look also at ↑asleep and the verb ↑sleep.
noun 1. an occasion before or after a funeral when people gather to remember the dead person, traditionally held the night before the funeral to watch over the body before it is buried 2. the track that a boat or ship leaves behind on the surface of the water
Word Origin: v. and n. sense 1 Old English wōc wacian ‘remain awake, hold a vigil’ Germanic Dutch waken German wachen ↑watchn. sense 2 late 15th cent. Middle Low German Old Norse vǫk vaka ‘hole or opening in ice’