Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "wake" []

  • To cease to sleep; become awake: overslept and woke late. (verb-intransitive)
  • To stay awake: Bears wake for spring, summer, and fall and hibernate for the winter. (verb-intransitive)
  • To be brought into a state of awareness or alertness: suddenly woke to the danger we were in. (verb-intransitive)
  • To keep watch or guard, especially over a corpse. (verb-intransitive)
  • To rouse from sleep; awaken. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "wake" in a sentence
  • "“The word wake implies a ship,” Halliday prompted."
  • "What Favre left in his wake is a Packers fan base that remains divided over Thompson's sound football decision to move on."
  • "Approach we along the moonglade! that is what we call the wake here."