1
general::
1. Following directly on, as in In the wake of the procession, a number of small children came skipping down the aisle. This usage alludes to the waves made behind a passing vessel. [c. 1800] 2. In the aftermath of, as a consequence of, as in Famine often comes in the wake of war. [Mid-1800s]
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): in the wake of something
Fig. after something; as a result of some event. (Alludes to a ship’s wake.) • We had no place to live in the wake of the fire. • In the wake of the storm, there were many broken tree limbs.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs