wake

/weɪk/

//weɪk// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"wake" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wake” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #1,807. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#1,807
frequency rank, English
12,113
“W” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - (often followed by up) To stop sleeping.

Corpus desk

Index EN-wake · wake · English

wake · rank #1,807 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-COMMON #1,807
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 12,113
  • PHOTO-FINISH volume

Nearest frequency peer: volume (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “wake”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “wake” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of May 6, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

wake vs we
50% similar
wake vs was
50% similar
wake vs way
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for wake
PropertyValue
Headwordwake
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/weɪk/
Letters4
Frequency rank#1,807
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wake” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). wake lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around wake (IPA /weɪk/), averb. Corpus frequency is #1,807 among 12,113 “W” headwords. Wiktionary lists 8 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for wake, with forms such as "awke", "waek", and "wakke". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "we", "was", "way", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: A merger of two verbs of related/similar form and meaning: * Middle English waken, Old English wacan, from Proto-West Germanic *wakan, from Proto-Germanic *wakaną. * Middle English wakien, Old English wacian, from Proto-West Germanic *wakēn, from Proto-Germ… The correct English form is wake, spelled W-A-K-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    (often followed by up) To stop sleeping.
  2. 2
    (often followed by up) To make somebody stop sleeping; to rouse from sleep.
  3. 3
    To put in motion or action; to arouse; to excite.
  4. 4
    To be excited or roused up; to be stirred up from a dormant, torpid, or inactive state; to be active.
  5. 5
    To watch, or sit up with, at night, as a dead body.
  6. 6
    To be or remain awake; not to sleep.
  7. 7
    To be alert; to keep watch
  8. 8
    To sit up late for festive purposes; to hold a night revel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how wake appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I woke up at four o'clock this morning.
  2. How long I slept I cannot tell, for I had nothing to guide me to the time, but woke at length, and found myself still in darkness.

Etymology

A merger of two verbs of related/similar form and meaning: * Middle English waken, Old English wacan, from Proto-West Germanic *wakan, from Proto-Germanic *wakaną. * Middle English wakien, Old English wacian, from Proto-West Germanic *wakēn, from Proto-Germanic *wakāną.

Synonyms

abraidarisearouseawakeawakenget upriserousestirwakewake upwaken

Antonyms

fall asleepsleep

This word in other languages

despertarse(Español)se réveiller(Français)aufwachen(Deutsch)acordar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • awke
  • waek
  • wakke
  • wkae
  • wwake

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of wake - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

awke2waek2wakke1wkae2wwake1
Edit distance from "wake"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of May 6, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "wake"?
"wake" is spelled W-A-K-E. The IPA pronunciation is /weɪk/.
What does "wake" mean?
As a verb, "wake" means: (often followed by up) To stop sleeping.
What words are commonly confused with "wake"?
"wake" is commonly confused with "we", "was", "way". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wake"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wake" is /weɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "wake"?
A merger of two verbs of related/similar form and meaning: * Middle English waken, Old English wacan, from Proto-West Germanic *wakan, from Proto-Germanic *wakaną. * Middle English wakien, Old English wacian, from Proto-West Germanic *wakēn, from ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "wake", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

busy#1,812ends#1,822farm#1,824file#1,825

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

apple5 variantsraise5 variantsrare5 variantsonto5 variants
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list