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ache
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
ache
I.verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
(a) stomach ache
▪ I had terrible stomach ache last night.
aches and pains
▪ Everyone has a few aches and pains when they get older.
dull ache
▪ a dull ache in her lower back
sb’s head hurts/aches/throbs
▪ Her head was throbbing and she needed to lie down.
sb’s heart aches (=to feel very sad)
▪ It made his heart ache to look at her
tummy ache
▪ He was up all night with tummy ache.
your muscles ache (=hurt after being exercised too much)
▪ I ran until my muscles ached.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ NOUN
back
▪ Maggie's eyes and back are aching like hell.
▪ The small of my back ached, my left arm ached.
▪ My back ached, my bum was sore and my mouth caked with the rich tang of the wine.
▪ My back ached, my knees ached, my head ached.
▪ Her back ached, her hand was blistered.
▪ Her back did not ache that much.
▪ Her back was aching badly now and she viewed the steep climb with some dismay.
▪ Her back ached, but her spine was undamaged.
body
▪ He would sit or kneel until his body ached, picking and stroking in his efforts to please her.
▪ My body ached, I was ready to drop, I wanted to cry.
▪ She complained of headaches and exhaustion and often said her whole body ached.
▪ His body ached to be tucked into bed for the night or for eternity.
▪ His body ached all over and the wounded arm felt as if it were dropping off.
▪ His wet, cold body was aching and calling out for a hot meal and warm bed.
▪ I do believe a couple of days off helped some other parts of my body which were aching.
foot
▪ You could walk from there till your feet ached, and still you'd see nothing but herring.
▪ My feet ached, I had a pain in my stomach.
▪ Her feet ached and she could hardly breathe.
▪ Blood was spouting from cuts on my right hand, and my left foot ached a bit and felt strange - no more.
▪ By now his feet ached, and his naked chest was frozen as senseless as an iron shield.
▪ We had no boots or gloves, and my hands and feet ached badly.
▪ Her feet ached, her mouth was parched.
head
▪ His head ached, the cool air no panacea, and his thoughts, too, were disturbed.
▪ My neck felt stiff and my head was starting to ache.
▪ He knew, too, that his head had been aching and that his mind was capable of playing tricks upon him.
▪ His head ached, and he was thirsty; he was on the floor.
▪ My eyes and head begin to ache from looking so intently for any sign of hydrothermal activity in the area.
▪ By the end of the evening my head ached.
▪ My back ached, my knees ached, my head ached.
heart
▪ She was constantly in and out of the kitchen and whenever he heard her, Geoffrey's heart ached.
▪ I watched him going about his work and my heart ached.
▪ At seventeen Polly discovered that it is not just the heart that aches when love is lost, but the whole body.
▪ My heart ached enough as it was, thinking of Janir.
▪ Li Yuan ... How her heart ached to see him now; to have him hold her and comfort her.
▪ So rang their song in lovely cadences, and Odysseus' heart ached with longing.
▪ Here 1 live, constantly thinking of my native land, alas, my heart is aching.
▪ There was somehow the sense on the set that he might have done it, and her heart ached for him.
leg
▪ Then my legs started aching again.
▪ Our shoulders, arms and legs ache, but we hardly notice.
▪ He felt cold, his arms and legs aching from the rough ride of the previous day.
▪ When I went round looking for a home, I walked and walked till my legs and arms ached.
▪ Her legs ached already from the walk which once would have meant nothing to her.
▪ My arms and legs ache, too.
▪ Ooooooh, how her leg muscles did ache from holding her skirt in this proper fashion - with blue flowers on it.
▪ It was my arms and legs that ached.
muscle
▪ If you were to lift that weight several times, you would find that the muscle gradually began to ache.
▪ He was exhausted muscles ached in his back and thighs.
▪ You feel hungry; you want to eat more; your muscles ache after exercise, so you miss a few sessions.
▪ When he walked to the mess his muscles ached pleasantly, as if he had climbed a small, simple mountain.
▪ We stood there a long time watching, heads tipped back, neck muscles beginning to ache.
▪ Ooooooh, how her leg muscles did ache from holding her skirt in this proper fashion - with blue flowers on it.
▪ But since she'd considered herself relatively fit, she was disconcerted when her muscles began aching after just a short time.
pain
▪ Restless, anxious, aching sore and bruised pains, tearing pains.
▪ She complains of aching pain and has trouble sitting.
shoulder
▪ By the time we reach the house we are soaking wet and our shoulders are aching.
▪ My shoulder and neck ache now as well as my back.
▪ Now his left shoulder was aching from the lightning fast, iron-handed blow he had taken.
▪ At the end of bouts, my legs were fine while my arms and shoulders and chest ached.
▪ Blanche sat slumped in the armchair, arms, legs and shoulders aching.
■ VERB
make
▪ The milk's so cold it makes my teeth ache.
▪ Marge found that the liquor made her eyes ache.
▪ So beautiful, it makes me ache.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ an aching back
▪ Every inch of my body ached after skiing.
▪ I went to dance class last week, and I've been aching ever since.
▪ My arms ached from carrying all the groceries.
▪ She felt hot and her head was beginning to ache.
▪ The sight of those children at their mother's funeral made my heart ache.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ Already your forearms are beginning to ache, and your upper arms crush your ribs.
▪ For years, her chest hurt, her abdomen ached.
▪ His head ached, the cool air no panacea, and his thoughts, too, were disturbed.
▪ I clung so hard to the window frame that my hand ached.
▪ She had been aching for him since she had first seen him straddling that bike with such lazy arrogance.
▪ Still, I ache for context at times.
▪ Your limbs can ache and your muscles can feel weak.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
dull
▪ The pain in her lower back subsided leaving a dull ache.
▪ I am feeling much better, though there are many times when I feel a dull ache.
▪ Sleep away the tiredness and the dull ache inside his head, that was the thing to do.
▪ They felt nothing but a dull ache in their backs.
▪ It ached an ugly, dull ache.
▪ It starts as a dull ache that gradually evolves into a severe throbbing pain, centering in the frontal and temporal regions.
▪ It wasn't really very bad but it was a dull ache that made her realise she would never get to sleep.
▪ It was a dull, empty ache which never really went away.
■ NOUN
heart
▪ There was smoke coming from her father's chimney, but seeing the inside of the cottage made her heart ache.
▪ Her reluctance to go made her heart ache, but the truth was patent.
▪ Somehow it made her heart ache with a wild mix of anguish and recrimination.
▪ It made his heart ache to look at her.
tummy
▪ They may also have nightmares, tummy aches or headaches.
▪ They tell me he's got toothache and tummy ache from eating too many sweets.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ Lisa felt a dull ache spreading up her arm.
▪ The ache in my leg muscles had almost disappeared.
▪ Yet there remained an ache in her heart which told her she had not achieved what she wanted to.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ A sharp ache filled her chest and she was afraid she was going to cry.
▪ His breathing was frightful and the unrelenting ache in his legs grew harsher with every stride.
▪ She is putting up peaches for the winter and fighting that ache to be gone again.
▪ She may also complain of sore muscles, stomach aches, and other pains.
▪ So why was there an ache in her heart?
▪ That took care of his ache for home.
▪ The ache in her head got worse and she began to imagine a pain under her breastbone.
▪ You feel the ache coming in your bones.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Ache

Ache \Ache\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Ached; p. pr. & vb. n. Aching.] [OE. aken, AS. acan, both strong verbs, AS. acan, imp. [=o]c, p. p. acen, to ache; perh. orig. to drive, and akin to agent.] To suffer pain; to have, or be in, pain, or in continued pain; to be distressed. ``My old bones ache.''
--Shak.

The sins that in your conscience ache.
--Keble.

Ache

Ach \Ach\, Ache \Ache\, n. [F. ache, L. apium parsley.] A name given to several species of plants; as, smallage, wild celery, parsley. [Obs.]
--Holland.

Ache

Ache \Ache\, n. [OE. ache, AS. [ae]ce, ece, fr. acan to ache. See Ache, v. i.] Continued pain, as distinguished from sudden twinges, or spasmodic pain. ``Such an ache in my bones.''
--Shak.

Note: Often used in composition, as, a headache, an earache, a toothache.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
ache

Old English acan "to ache, suffer pain," from Proto-Germanic *akanan, perhaps from a PIE root *ag-es- "fault, guilt," represented also in Sanskrit and Greek, perhaps imitative of groaning. The verb was pronounced "ake," the noun "ache" (as in speak/speech) but while the noun changed pronunciation to conform to the verb, the spelling of both was changed to ache c.1700 on a false assumption of a Greek origin (specifically Greek akhos "pain, distress," which is rather a distant relation of awe (n.)). Related: Ached; aching.

ache

early 15c., æche, from Old English æce, from Proto-Germanic *akiz, from same source as ache (v.).

Wiktionary
ache

n. A language spoken by the Yi people of South-Western China.

WordNet
ache

n. a dull persistent (usually moderately intense) pain [syn: aching]

ache
  1. v. feel physical pain; "Were you hurting after the accident?" [syn: hurt, suffer]

  2. have a desire for something or someone who is not present; "She ached for a cigarette"; "I am pining for my lover" [syn: yearn, yen, pine, languish]

  3. be the source of pain [syn: smart, hurt]

Wikipedia
Ache

Ache may refer to:

  • Ache, a chronic, painful sensation
Ache (Foetus album)

Ache is a You've Got Foetus on Your Breath album first released in 1982 on Self Immolation Records. Thirsty Ear reissued the album as a CD in 1997 in the US. Both releases were limited editions: only 1,500 copies of the LP and 4,000 copies of the CD were produced. Ache, along with its predecessor, Deaf, was recorded in an 8-track studio.

The Ache LP is Self Immolation #WOMB OYBL 2. The CD re-release is Ectopic Ents #ECT ENTS 013.

Aché (Merceditas Valdés album)

Aché is a 1982 album by the Cuban singer Merceditas Valdés. It was a return to recording after a long absence from the studio, and the first of four albums of Yoruba-roots influenced music.

Usage examples of "ache".

Her bare foot dragged across it, abrading the skin and producing a burning pain that somehow seemed far worse than any of the aches and stings emanating from the other injuries Mrs.

Lord knew she ached to, with her insides abuzz and his warmth running up her side.

He had been with Mwynwen frequently, either in his own chambers or her house, resting and leaching out of his body the subliminal aches and slight sickness that extended exposure to iron caused .

Still, her heart ached a little at the thought of that innocent victim.

Pasgen would read in her words how much her arms ached to curve around a small, warm body, to hold a child that wriggled and laughed and cuddled against her for comfort.

Another moment she could see, as if through a dirtied window, some place she knew, but had lost, and her old bones ached with wanting to be there.

Nay, he decided, forcing himself to ignore the pulsing hardness between his thighs and the churning of his blood which ached for the satisfaction that only her body could provide.

Of a sudden, he ached to consummate this marriage with his wedded wife.

And the reason why he hesitated to do that which his body ached for-Steven of Gravely.

With the heel of his palm on the underside, he flicked a callused thumb back and forth across the pebbled tip until her breast felt heavy and ached for some fulfillment she could not understand.

A raw and overwhelming grief flooded her, and her throat ached with defeat.

She ached for the return of her husband, for the love she had apparently lost.

She ached to be outside in the fresh air, to be dressed in her oldest jeans, turning over spades full of soft loamy earth, feeling the excitement and pleasure of siting the bulbs, of allowing her imagination to paint for her the colourful picture they would make in the spring, in their uniform beds set among lawn pathways and bordered by a long deep border of old-fashioned perennial plants.

She had ached to point out that the shockingly expensive hairdresser who cut it once monthly and the even more horrendously expensive lightening procedure which involved a trip to London every month could hardly be described as natural, but what was the point?

She was always so self-contained, so immaculate, so perfectly poised and turned out that his need to see her with her mouth swollen after love, her hair tangled by his fingers, her eyes languorous and heavy, her breathing quickened, sharp and desirous, was sometimes so great that he ached to reach out and take hold of her.