woke up also waked up; woken up also waked up; waking up; wakes up
: 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
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 toa 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
Emily BenedekExamples of wake-up in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025
Hell, there's even an alarm clock mode (talk about a wake-up call).
—Malia Griggs, Glamour, 24 Feb. 2025
Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 7 Mar. 2025
This is largely due to early school start times, which force teens to wake up before their biological clocks are ready.
—Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
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Adjective
Instead of blaming Gen Z, companies should take this as a wake-up call.
—Matt Robison, Newsweek, 25 Feb. 2025
Hell, there's even an alarm clock mode (talk about a wake-up call).
—Malia Griggs, Glamour, 24 Feb. 2025
Verb
Ocasio-Cortez and others in the House Progressive Caucus are using attention-grabbing tactics, while in the Senate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has gone national, tearing through red states and warning his party to wake up.
—Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 7 Mar. 2025
This is largely due to early school start times, which force teens to wake up before their biological clocks are ready.
—Joanna Fong-Isariyawongse, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
Cite this Entry
“Wake-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wake-up. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.
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