knock up

British
as in to wake
to cause to stop sleeping I asked the clerk at the hotel to knock me up at 7:00 a.m.

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of knock up Meanwhile, while Miranda busies herself with building a pageant empire, her husband Ray, a pill-popping nurse, has knocked up the 18-year-old granddaughter of one of his hospice patients. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025 Julia, worried, maintains that she’s not knocked up. Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 15 Aug. 2025 With 200 hp worth of empty space to play with before knocking up against the 600-hp V12 Verado, Mercury is dialing up the overall output of the V10 range by adding a new 425-hp variant as the flagship of the family. New Atlas, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knock up
Verb
  • That internal clock controls your sleep and wake cycles, detecting light as a signal to be awake and darkness as a signal to fall asleep.
    Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Set a 30, 60 or 90-minute timer so the noise doesn’t wake you up.
    Christopher Murray may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom., FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The black-flame candle has officially been lit—IYK, YK—awakening the city's spirit with a theme honoring the Big Apple itself.
    Lauren Sanchez, Vogue, 26 Oct. 2025
  • After first being detained in New Jersey, Gómez was awakened in the night and flown to an ICE facility in Michigan on August 19, his cousin said.
    Zoe Sottile, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • In Hocus Pocus, Dani, her older brother Max (Omri Katz) and his crush Allison (Vinessa Shaw) have to save the children of Salem, Massachusetts after accidentally awaking the witch Sanderson sisters from their 300-year slumber.
    Glenn Garner, Deadline, 25 Oct. 2025
  • When Fuller awakes several hours later, her head has been shaved, she’s covered in antihistamine cream, and she’s tied up in a basement.
    David Fear, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Knock up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knock%20up. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.

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