wake

verb · noun

Simple meaning

To make somebody stop sleeping.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

wayk

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈweɪk

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

transitiveoften followed by up
To make somebody stop sleeping; to rouse from sleep.
Make aware of
Cause to become awake or conscious
To be or remain awake; not to sleep.
transitivefigurative
To put in motion or action; to arouse; to excite.
To watch, or sit up with, at night, as a dead body.

noun

The state of forbearing sleep, especially for solemn or festive purposes; a vigil.
A period after a person's death before or after the body is buried, cremated, etc.; in some cultures accompanied by a party or collectively sorting through the deceased's personal effects.
The disturbance which follows an object, person or animal moving through water.
figuratively
The area behind a moving person or object.
One of 100 counties in North Carolina, United States. County seat: Raleigh, the state capital.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B1 · Intermediate
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: (often followed by up) To make somebody stop sleeping; to rouse from sleep.

Used this way, wake is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: No strong connotation
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use wake

“There's no weeping at an Irish wake.”noun
“The motorboat's wake capsized the canoe.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

wake forestwake cycle

Tap the highlighted word to open its own entry.

Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

awaken
To stop sleeping; awake.
waken
To wake or rouse from sleep.
awake
To cause (somebody) to stop sleeping.
wake up
To stop sleeping; to awake.
arouse
To wake from sleep or stupor.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

wake-up signalnounCompound term
Signal to wake up.
wake islandnounCompound term
An island in the western Pacific between Guam and Hawaii.
wake-robinnounCompound term
Any liliaceous plant of the genus Trillium having a whorl of three leaves at the top of the stem with a single three-petaled flower.
wake boardnounCompound term
A buoyant board (resembling a surfboard) that is used to ride over water while being pulled behind a motorboat.
wake upverbCompound term
Cause to become awake or conscious.
wake-up callnounCompound term
A warning to take action concerning something that was overlooked or neglected.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: to make somebody stop sleeping

awakewake upawaken

Antonyms

Sense: forbearing sleep or especially for solemn

slumber

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.