ache

1 of 2

verb

ached; aching

intransitive verb

1
a
: to suffer a usually dull persistent pain
an aching back
b
: to become distressed or disturbed (as with anxiety or regret)
aching with sadness
c
: to feel compassion
My heart aches for those poor people.
2
: to experience a painful eagerness or yearning
He is aching to go.

ache

2 of 2

noun

1
: a usually dull persistent pain
had an ache in his back
2
: a condition marked by aching
looked through the old pictures with a dull ache in her heart

Examples of ache in a Sentence

Verb Her muscles were aching from shoveling snow. After running the marathon, his body ached for a week. The candy's so sweet that it makes my teeth ache. Noun He had a dull ache in his back from lifting boxes all day. a dull pounding ache in his head
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
But not all aching stems from strains, sprains, or spasms (as those examples above can sometimes lead to); it can also be related to some type of arthritis in your spine. Sarah Klein, SELF, 5 Mar. 2024 For the centenary of the Black composer Julia Perry’s birth, the Experiential Orchestra mounts a four-day festival, which closes at Alice Tully Hall with Perry’s aching Prelude for Strings and her piquant Violin Concerto (March 16). The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2024 Love affairs, though, often end badly, and this one could leave investors nursing both an aching wallet and a broken heart. Paolo Confino, Fortune, 22 Feb. 2024 While the weather is warm and your green thumb may be aching, don't start your work on your 2024 garden just yet. The Enquirer, 27 Feb. 2024 Here’s why your knees might be aching in the first place. Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 14 Feb. 2024 The pressure change made ears bleed and combined with low oxygen, loud wind noise and traumatic stress made heads ache severely. Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 13 Jan. 2024 For motorists without the luxury of an automatic-start vehicle to warm up before getting in, trying to keep bones from aching and joints from stiffening (the human joints) often proves difficult. The Arizona Republic, 10 Jan. 2024 Leave it to this muscle-relaxing fitness cube to relieve aching muscles. Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 19 Feb. 2024
Noun
That’s because these kinds of stimuli can lead to head-splitting aches, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue. Julia Sullivan, SELF, 14 Mar. 2024 Symptoms of parrot fever include fever and chills, headache, muscle aches and a dry cough, according to the CDC. Erin Clack, Peoplemag, 10 Mar. 2024 Inspired by a 2022 photo of a Ukrainian father kneeling before the body of his dead son, the ballet filled the stage with bodies expressing the tangible ache of grief and love. Gia Kourlas, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024 Symptoms of invasive listeriosis typically begin two weeks after eating contaminated food and include fevers, headaches and flu-like symptoms like muscle aches and fatigue. The Arizona Republic, 23 Feb. 2024 It's usually experienced as a dull ache on both sides of one's head or feels like a tight band around one's forehead. Daryl Austin, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2024 All previous patients complained of swollen lymph nodes and muscle aches that cleared up in a few weeks. Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024 Flu symptoms include include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headaches and fatigue. Angela Palermo, Idaho Statesman, 20 Feb. 2024 Listeriosis can cause fever, muscle aches, headache, stiff neck, confusion, loss of balance and convulsions sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 14 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ache.' 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

Middle English aken, going back to Old English acan, of uncertain origin

Note: Originally a Class VI strong verb, to judge by Middle English past tense forms such as eoc, ok, etc. (no preterit forms are attested in Old English). There is no counterpart to the verb in other Germanic languages, and words adduced as possible relatives (e.g., Middle Dutch akel "harm, injury, grief," Middle Low German ēken "to fester") are formally and semantically only vaguely comparable. Regarding the spelling see note at ache entry 2.

Noun

Middle English, going back to Old English æce, ece, noun derivative from the base of acan "to ache entry 1"

Note: The spelling with -ch-, reflecting the historical pronunciation of the noun, has spread to the verb, while the pronunciation of the verb with [k], continued from Old English, has spread to the noun since late Middle English. The persistence of the spelling with -ch- may have been influenced by Samuel Johnson's mistaken notion that the word derived from Greek áchos "pain, distress."

First Known Use

Verb

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

Noun

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

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

Dictionary Entries Near ache

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

ache

1 of 2 verb
ached; aching
1
: to suffer a dull persistent pain
2
: to long painfully : yearn

ache

2 of 2 noun
: a dull persistent pain
achy
ˈā-kē
adjective

Medical Definition

ache

1 of 3 intransitive verb
ached; aching
: to suffer a usually dull persistent pain

ache

2 of 3 noun
1
: a usually dull persistent pain
2
: a condition marked by aching

AChE

3 of 3 abbreviation
acetylcholinesterase

More from Merriam-Webster on ache

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