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
David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 9 June 2026
This is also a wake-up call for leading Democrats across the country.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 4 June 2026
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 9 June 2026
An investigation revealed that the child’s mother had woken up to find the suspect trying to strangle her, Taylor said.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 9 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
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Adjective
So Death of a Salesman has been a good wake-up call for me.
—David Canfield, HollywoodReporter, 9 June 2026
This is also a wake-up call for leading Democrats across the country.
—Boston Herald Editorial Staff, Boston Herald, 4 June 2026
Verb
Which is how Tony Alford woke up in early March to discover that Dobbins had called his cell at 3 in the morning, Ann Arbor time.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 9 June 2026
An investigation revealed that the child’s mother had woken up to find the suspect trying to strangle her, Taylor said.
—Jason Green, Mercury News, 9 June 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 13 Jun. 2026.
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