wake-up

1 of 2

adjective

ˈwāk-ˌəp 

: serving to wake up

a wake-up alarm

wake up

2 of 2

verb

woke up also waked up; woken up also waked up; waking up; wakes up

transitive + intransitive

: awake entry 1, wake entry 1: such as

a

: to cease sleeping : to become awake

I woke up late this morning.

When I woke up on Monday the sky was the color of mercury, and the air was heavy with moisture.

—Ann M. Martin

b

: to rouse (a person or animal) from or as if from sleep

The sound of a door slamming woke him up.

c

: to become aware or to make (someone) aware of something (such as an existing problem or danger)

They finally woke up and realized what was happening.

—usually used with to

a study that woke people up to the importance of regular exercise

In 1997, … Jacob Nielsen predicted that if newspapers didn't wake up to the threat of online classified advertising and dominate the field by 1998, many of them would die within a decade.

—Emily Benedek

d

: to make (something) active : arouse, stir

"And what joy and cheerfulness it wakes up within us, to see all nature beaming in brightness and sunshine …" added Alice …

—Charles Dickens

Examples of wake-up in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

For those handling government contracts or CUI, this is a wake-up call: cybersecurity can no longer be an afterthought. —Emil Sayegh, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

This should be a wake-up call for those who continue to support genocide. —Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 2 Nov. 2024

Verb

But Ashley woke up in a different room, and her mother wasn’t there. Or anywhere. —Dateline Nbc, NBC News, 6 Nov. 2024

Meanwhile, at 3:30 a.m. in Shenandoah National Park, a hand wraps around the throat of a sleeping Jessica Knight, who wakes up ready to fight. —Sara Netzley, EW.com, 5 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1946, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1767, in the meaning defined above