verb

ache

AYK

verb

To feel a dull, ongoing pain rather than a sharp, sudden one.

"My legs ached after the long hike."

"Her back had been aching all week from sitting at the desk."

To feel emotional pain or a strong longing for something.

"He ached for the life he used to have."

"She ached with loneliness after her friends moved away."

noun

A steady, dull pain, or a deep emotional hurt.

"The dentist gave her something for the ache in her tooth."

"There was a quiet ache in his voice when he talked about home."

How to Use Ache

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA lasting, dull pain — physical or emotional — as opposed to a sharp, sudden one.

Common mistake

Don't confuse with "ake" — that spelling is obsolete; modern English always uses "ache" for both the verb and the noun.

Common pairings

a dull ache ache for something my head aches body aches

Word Forms

ached past tense, oke past tense, aken past tense, aches plural, aches plural, aches singular

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My legs _____ after the long hike.

Etymology

From Old English acan (the verb) and æce (the noun), going back to a very old Germanic root meaning "to hurt." The two spellings merged over time, partly because an 18th-century dictionary writer mistakenly linked the word to a similar-sounding Greek word for pain.

Rhymes for ache

cache Apache stache panache headache backache moustache toothache bellyache heartache stomachache

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