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
Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Keep a consistent bedtime and wake-up schedule.
—Lindsay Curtis, Verywell Health, 9 Mar. 2026
Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 17 Mar. 2026
It was written by Nicki Cortese and follows a man (Goggins) who wakes up in a strange house covered in blood and comes to realize his true identity while fighting off contract killers from his past, which includes everyone from his exes to his best friend.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Adjective
For homeland security analysts, the San Bernardino attack was a wake-up call.
—Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Keep a consistent bedtime and wake-up schedule.
—Lindsay Curtis, Verywell Health, 9 Mar. 2026
Verb
Monday morning, some local music fans woke up to tragic news.
—Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 17 Mar. 2026
It was written by Nicki Cortese and follows a man (Goggins) who wakes up in a strange house covered in blood and comes to realize his true identity while fighting off contract killers from his past, which includes everyone from his exes to his best friend.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 17 Mar. 2026
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 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
