ache

[ eyk ]

verb (used without object)

, ached, ach·ing.

1. to have or suffer a continuous, dull pain:

   His whole body ached.

   Synonyms: hurt

2. to feel great sympathy, pity, or the like:

   Her heart ached for the starving animals.

3. to feel eager; yearn; long:

   She ached to be the champion. He's just aching to get even.

noun

1. a continuous, dull pain (in contrast to a sharp, sudden, or sporadic pain).

ache

/ eɪk /

verb

1. to feel, suffer, or be the source of a continuous dull pain
2. to suffer mental anguish

noun

1. a continuous dull pain

Derived Forms

• ˈaching, adjective
• ˈachingly, adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of ache¹

before 900; (v.) Middle English aken, Old English acan; perhaps metaphoric use of earlier unattested sense “drive, impel” (compare Old Norse aka, cognate with Latin agere, Greek ágein ); (noun) derivative of the v.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ache¹

Old English ācan (vb), æce (n), Middle English aken (vb), ache (n). Compare bake , batch

Synonym Study

See pain.

Example Sentences

A standout in the seventh episode chronicles the tumbling cascade of infirmities that come with old age that start with aches that never go away.

From Salon

Sailor Song, an aching love ballad about falling for a woman who looks like the actress Anne Hathaway, exploded online in June and quickly became a real-world success.

From BBC

“My heart aches from what I hear. We were bombed so much and so many people died there.”

From BBC

All USC’s star running back knows is every Wednesday his acupuncturist will put them in whatever muscle has been aching that week.

From Los Angeles Times

From the melodic Sicilian ghosts of “The Godfather” by composer Nino Rota to the aching Eastern European love theme in “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” by Wojciech Kilar, his stories ooze with musical expression.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• anguish
• misery
• pang
• soreness
• spasm
• twinge