Pronunciations (3)
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/eɪk/
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/eɪt͡ʃ/
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eɪk
Verb
To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
Usage- Intransitive
- stative
- Examples
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My feet were aching for days after the marathon.
Every muscle in his body ached.
More examples (3)
By'r lakin, I can goe no further, Sir, / My old bones akes:^([sic]) here's a maze trod indeede / Through fourth rights, & Meanders: / by your patience, I needes muſt reſt me.
And that thing made of ſound and ſhovv / VVhich mortals have miſnamed A Beau, / (But in the language of the ſky / Is call'd a tvvolegg'd butterfly) / VVill make your very heartſtrings ake / VVith loud and everlaſting clack, […]
The turmoil went on—no rest, no peace. […] It was nearly eleven o'clock now, and he strolled out again. In the little fair created by the costers' barrows the evening only seemed beginning; and the naphtha flares made one's eyes ache, the men's voices grated harshly, and the girls' faces saddened one.
To cause someone or something to suffer pain.
Usage- Literary
- Rare
- Transitive
Noun
Continued dull pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain.
- Examples
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You may suffer a minor ache in your side.
The aches and pains died down after taking an analgesic.
More examples (1)
Fill all thy bones with aches.
Emotional suffering causing discomfort and physical pain.
Noun
Parsley.
Usage- Historical
- Obsolete
Noun
a dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain
- Synonyms
Verb
have a desire for something or someone who is not present
- Examples
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She ached for a cigarette
I am pining for my lover
be the source of pain
- Broader terms
be in pain
- Broader terms