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
Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 13 May 2026
The resort offers wake-up call services for guests hoping to catch the Northern Lights.
—Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 9 May 2026
Gil West, Rolling Stone, 19 May 2026
More than 11,000 people were waking up without power Tuesday morning after powerful thunderstorms swept through the Kansas City Metro area with damaging winds and torrential rains.
—Kansas City Star, 19 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
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Adjective
The damage inflicted on the UAE by Iran’s cheap Shahed drones has served as a wake-up call for the small Arab nation, exposing a gap in its air defense network.
—Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 13 May 2026
The resort offers wake-up call services for guests hoping to catch the Northern Lights.
—Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 9 May 2026
Verb
My parents would wake up convinced the house was burning.
—Gil West, Rolling Stone, 19 May 2026
More than 11,000 people were waking up without power Tuesday morning after powerful thunderstorms swept through the Kansas City Metro area with damaging winds and torrential rains.
—Kansas City Star, 19 May 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 20 May. 2026.
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