- 1[intransitive, transitive] to stop sleeping; to make someone stop sleeping wake (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. wake to something (formal) They woke to a clear blue sky. wake from something (formal) She had just woken from a deep sleep. wake to do something He woke up to find himself alone in the house. wake somebody (up) Try not to wake the baby up. I was woken by the sound of someone moving around. Which Word?awake / awaken / wake up / waken
- Wake (up) is the most common of these verbs. It can mean someone 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 used only 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.
Definitions on the go
Look up any word in the dictionary offline, anytime, anywhere with the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app.
- 2[transitive] wake something (literary or formal) to make someone remember something or feel something again The incident woke memories of his past sufferings. Idioms
verb jump to other results
NAmE//weɪk//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they wake he / she / it wakes
past simple woke
past participle woken
-ing form waking
(usually in orders) used to tell someone to become aware of what is really happening in a situation, especially when this is something unpleasant Phrasal Verbswake upwake up to
Check pronunciation: wake