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
CBS News, 12 Dec. 2025
That should be a wake-up call for all of us.
—Lavinia Mehedintu, Big Think, 11 Dec. 2025
Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 22 Dec. 2025
If the idea of waking up next to hot springs sounds appealing, plan a stay at the Wiesbaden.
—Alex Schechter, Travel + Leisure, 22 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
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Adjective
There was hope the advisory would serve as a wake-up call for a quake that could have the devastation of the 2011 disaster that killed nearly 20,000 people and destroyed a nuclear plant.
—CBS News, 12 Dec. 2025
That should be a wake-up call for all of us.
—Lavinia Mehedintu, Big Think, 11 Dec. 2025
Verb
On May 19, 2023, Bradley-Brun woke up Mackay and told her to undress and get into a bathtub on her knees, per the release.
—Nicole Acosta, PEOPLE, 22 Dec. 2025
If the idea of waking up next to hot springs sounds appealing, plan a stay at the Wiesbaden.
—Alex Schechter, Travel + Leisure, 22 Dec. 2025
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 23 Dec. 2025.
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