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
Jared Perlo, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
In the evening, the astronauts spoke with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, discussing the relative merits of Nutella versus maple syrup on pancakes, as well as their favorite wake-up songs from the mission.
—Lee Billings, Scientific American, 9 Apr. 2026
Paula Wethington, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
Yet not only is this country still standing, but more and more people are waking up to the mockery he’s made of American values.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
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Adjective
Nicholas Miailhe, an AI policy leader and expert at the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, an international AI initiative comprising 46 countries and the European Union, said the results should be a wake-up call for workers and policymakers.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
In the evening, the astronauts spoke with Canadian prime minister Mark Carney, discussing the relative merits of Nutella versus maple syrup on pancakes, as well as their favorite wake-up songs from the mission.
—Lee Billings, Scientific American, 9 Apr. 2026
Verb
Tornado sirens, cell phone alerts, high winds and pounding rain woke up Michigan residents as severe weather pushed through the state overnight Tuesday.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 15 Apr. 2026
Yet not only is this country still standing, but more and more people are waking up to the mockery he’s made of American values.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 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 16 Apr. 2026.
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