aching
/ˈeɪ.kɪŋ/
aching is the present participle and gerund of ache.
Meaning of ache
Verb
ache (third-person singular simple present aches, present participle aching, simple past ached or (obsolete) oke, past participle ached or (obsolete) oke or (obsolete) aken)
- To suffer pain; to be the source of, or be in, pain, especially continued dull pain; to be distressed.
- My feet were aching for days after the marathon.
- To cause someone or something to suffer pain.
Adjective
aching (comparative more aching, superlative most aching)
- That aches; continuously painful; that causes pain.
- The aching heart, the aching head.1851, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Golden Legend
- There was a long spell of silence, a big, aching void, and then from the Professor a keen 'S-s-s-s!'1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula, published 1993, page 189
Noun
aching (plural achings)
- The feeling of an ache; a dull pain.
Synonyms of aching
Forms of aching
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more aching |
| superlative | most aching |
| Noun | |
| plural | achings |
Words formed from aching
Phrases with aching
Words that rhyme with aching
Questions about aching
- What does aching mean?
- Aching means that aches; continuously painful; that causes pain.
- What is aching the present participle and gerund of?
- Aching is the present participle and gerund of ache.
- What part of speech is aching?
- Aching can be an adjective or a noun.
- How do you pronounce aching?
- Aching is pronounced /ˈeɪ.kɪŋ/.
Words near aching in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: aching (page history and authors); ache (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Persent101-aching.wav.
Cite this entry: “aching.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/aching. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.