verb
(intransitive) (often followed by up) To stop sleeping.
(transitive) (often followed by up) To make somebody stop sleeping; to rouse from sleep.
(transitive, figurative) To put in motion or action; to arouse; to excite.
(intransitive, figurative) To be excited or roused up; to be stirred up from a dormant, torpid, or inactive state; to be active.
To watch, or sit up with, at night, as a dead body.
To be or remain awake; not to sleep.
(obsolete) To be alert; to keep watch
(obsolete) To sit up late for festive purposes; to hold a night revel.
noun
(often obsolete or poetic) The act of waking, or state of being awake.
The state of forbearing sleep, especially for solemn or festive purposes; a vigil.
A period after a person's death before or after the body is buried, cremated, etc.; in some cultures accompanied by a party or collectively sorting through the deceased's personal effects.
(historical, Church of England) A yearly parish festival formerly held in commemoration of the dedication of a church. Originally, prayers were said on the evening preceding, and hymns were sung during the night, in the church; subsequently, these vigils were discontinued, and the day itself, often with succeeding days, was occupied in rural pastimes and exercises, attended by eating and drinking.
(collective) A number of vultures assembled together.
noun
(nautical) The path left behind a ship on the surface of the water.
The disturbance which follows an object, person or animal moving through water.
(aviation) The turbulent air left behind a flying aircraft.
(figuratively) The area behind a moving person or object.
(physics) The perturbation behind a body moving through a fluid.