ache

Meanings

1. A dull, steady pain in a part of the body.
2. A strong feeling of wanting or missing something.

Example sentences

• "She had an ache in her lower back after a day of gardening."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

• "My head aches when I read in bad light."

  Level A1, Meaning 1

• "He felt an ache of loneliness on the first night."

  Level B2, Meaning 2

• "Take a rest if you have aches and pains."

  Level A2, Meaning 1

Synonyms and antonyms

Look-alikes and common mistakes

• pain : Pain is the general word and can be sharp or sudden. An ache is dull and lasts.
• sore : Sore describes a part of the body that hurts when touched. An ache can hurt without being touched.

Word family and forms

Forms: aches, ached, aching

Word partners

Words and phrases that often go with "ache".

• an ache in my back
• aches and pains
• a dull ache
• muscle ache
• an ache of longing
• have an ache

Idioms and phrases

aches and pains

Small, general pains, often from age or tiredness.

"My grandfather talks about his aches and pains every winter."

Origin

Ache comes from the Old English verb acan, to ache, and the noun æce, which belong to an old Germanic word for to ache. In Middle English the verb was spelled aken and the noun ache.

Checked against: Wiktionary, the free dictionary, Dictionary.com.

How to remember it

The ache in a headache is spelled with ch but sounds like k. Say it as hed-ake.

Test yourself

Learn next at A1

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