1
a
: to be or remain awake
b
archaic
: to remain awake on watch especially over a corpse
c
obsolete
: to stay up late in revelry
1
: to stand watch over (someone or something)
especially
: to hold a wake over
waker
noun
1
: the state of being awake
2
a(1)
: an annual English parish festival formerly held in commemoration of the church's patron saint
(2)
b
: the festivities originally connected with the wake of an English parish church
—usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction
c
British
: an annual holiday or vacation
—usually used in plural but singular or plural in construction
3
: a watch held over the body of a dead person prior to burial and sometimes accompanied by festivity
1
: the track left by a moving body (such as a ship) in a fluid (such as water)
broadly
: a track or path left
Phrases
in the wake of
1
: close behind and in the same path of travel
missionaries arrived in the wake of conquistadors and soldiers—
Sabine MacCormack
Sabine MacCormack2
: as a result of : as a consequence of
power vacuums left in the wake of the second world war—A. M. Schlesinger born 1917
A. M. Schlesinger born 1917Synonyms
Examples of wake in a Sentence
Verb
She can never remember her dreams upon waking.
my banging around in the kitchen woke my wife
Recent Examples on the WebDennis Harvey, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
The boy, 15, was discovered missing at his family's home when his mother went to wake him for school, officials reported.
—Kirsten Fiscus, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
But before the call to prayer – or Fajr, which signals the beginning of the day – Gazans wake at two in the morning to the sound of a beating drum and sung poetry.
—Marwa Mouaki, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2024
Deal with the police, called after that engine roar wakes a sleeping baby.
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
Someone who, having woken from Trump’s spell, would cast aside their fear and old grievances to send the political equivalent of the Rohirrim sweeping into the battle to save Middle-earth.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Union sends wake-up call to woke Dems thinking of attending cop's funeral …Read more
COP KILLING: Suspect in NYPD murder came close to gunning down his partner: docs …Read more
Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.
—Fox News Staff, Fox News, 28 Mar. 2024
The same way that terms like woke and critical race theory (CRT) have been hijacked, morphed, and mutilated, the term DEI is experiencing a similar fate.
—Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Filmmakers defy woke pieties and finally find apolitical humanity in Shirley Chisholm’s politics.
—Armond White, National Review, 27 Mar. 2024
Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 6 Apr. 2024
The World Health Organization this week said its multiple requests to Israeli authorities to facilitate a visit to Al-Shifa to speak with staff and see what can be saved in the wake of the raid have so far been denied or impeded.
—Aya Batrawy, NPR, 6 Apr. 2024
The smaller Thomson’s gazelles follow in the wake of larger herbivores to gain access to high quality forage.
—T. Michael Anderson, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
All of this illustrates how California differs from dozens of states that have legalized sports betting in the wake of a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
—David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Law enforcement officials expressed concern that radicals in the U.S. might respond to ISIS calls for similar attacks in the wake of last month's deadly terrorist attack at a concert hall in Moscow.
—Pierre Thomas, ABC News, 5 Apr. 2024
In the wake of his arrest, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati announced Hyzdu would be placed on leave from the Sycamore Township Catholic school.
—The Enquirer, 5 Apr. 2024
Calls for Israel’s backers to halt arms transfers have increased in the wake of the deadly attack on World Central Kitchen’s aid workers.
—Missy Khamvongsa, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
In the wake of the crash, around 1,100 USACE personnel rushed to the scene to begin the heavy undertaking of removing the wreckage of the bridge.
—USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
Verb
That someone is Mia (Georgia Lock), who seems to wake from another such vaguely troubling reverie every 20 minutes or so here.
—Dennis Harvey, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
The boy, 15, was discovered missing at his family's home when his mother went to wake him for school, officials reported.
—Kirsten Fiscus, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024
But before the call to prayer – or Fajr, which signals the beginning of the day – Gazans wake at two in the morning to the sound of a beating drum and sung poetry.
—Marwa Mouaki, ABC News, 2 Apr. 2024
Deal with the police, called after that engine roar wakes a sleeping baby.
—Sean Evans, Robb Report, 1 Apr. 2024
Someone who, having woken from Trump’s spell, would cast aside their fear and old grievances to send the political equivalent of the Rohirrim sweeping into the battle to save Middle-earth.
—Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times, 29 Mar. 2024
Union sends wake-up call to woke Dems thinking of attending cop's funeral …Read more
COP KILLING: Suspect in NYPD murder came close to gunning down his partner: docs …Read more
Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.
—Fox News Staff, Fox News, 28 Mar. 2024
The same way that terms like woke and critical race theory (CRT) have been hijacked, morphed, and mutilated, the term DEI is experiencing a similar fate.
—Janice Gassam Asare, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
Filmmakers defy woke pieties and finally find apolitical humanity in Shirley Chisholm’s politics.
—Armond White, National Review, 27 Mar. 2024
Noun
In the wake of their split Blanchard has been spotted spending quality time with her ex-fiancé Ken Urker, who joined her in getting matching tattoos earlier this week.
—Charmaine Patterson, Peoplemag, 6 Apr. 2024
The World Health Organization this week said its multiple requests to Israeli authorities to facilitate a visit to Al-Shifa to speak with staff and see what can be saved in the wake of the raid have so far been denied or impeded.
—Aya Batrawy, NPR, 6 Apr. 2024
The smaller Thomson’s gazelles follow in the wake of larger herbivores to gain access to high quality forage.
—T. Michael Anderson, Discover Magazine, 6 Apr. 2024
All of this illustrates how California differs from dozens of states that have legalized sports betting in the wake of a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
—David Wharton, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Law enforcement officials expressed concern that radicals in the U.S. might respond to ISIS calls for similar attacks in the wake of last month's deadly terrorist attack at a concert hall in Moscow.
—Pierre Thomas, ABC News, 5 Apr. 2024
In the wake of his arrest, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati announced Hyzdu would be placed on leave from the Sycamore Township Catholic school.
—The Enquirer, 5 Apr. 2024
Calls for Israel’s backers to halt arms transfers have increased in the wake of the deadly attack on World Central Kitchen’s aid workers.
—Missy Khamvongsa, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
In the wake of the crash, around 1,100 USACE personnel rushed to the scene to begin the heavy undertaking of removing the wreckage of the bridge.
—USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wake.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near wake
Cite this Entry
“Wake.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wake. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
wake
2 of 3 noun
: a time before a dead person is buried when people gather to remember him or her and often to view the body
wake
3 of 3 noun1
: a track or path left by a moving body (as a ship) in the water
Etymology
Verb
from Old English wacan "to awake" and Old English wacian "to be awake"
Noun
of Germanic origin
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