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
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
23 June 2026
Companies should think of the SaaSpocalypse as an urgent wake-up call, treating this moment as an opportunity for evolution rather than an extinction event.
—
Tyler Hochman,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
Chris Morris,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
The woman woke up as flames spread to her hand and engulfed her belongings.
—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
23 June 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
State regulators have launched an investigation into the incident, and some local officials have called it a wake-up call for communities like Boyle Heights, where homes are sandwiched close to industry and manufacturing districts.
—
Alex Wigglesworth,
Los Angeles Times,
23 June 2026
Companies should think of the SaaSpocalypse as an urgent wake-up call, treating this moment as an opportunity for evolution rather than an extinction event.
—
Tyler Hochman,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
Verb
Whether the threat from data centers is real or perceived, communities and stakeholders are waking up and beginning to assign value to a resource that had previously been treated as free.
—
Chris Morris,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2026
The woman woke up as flames spread to her hand and engulfed her belongings.
—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
23 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 26 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
