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
Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 20 May 2025
That legal wake-up call signaled a shift: In a world of rising accountability, proof is no longer optional.
—Sj Studio, Sourcing Journal, 20 May 2025
Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 May 2025
Kristin Kramer woke up early on a Tuesday morning 10 years ago because one of her dogs needed to go out.
—Paula Span, New York Times, 17 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
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Adjective
Callie Cox, chief market strategist at Ritholtz Wealth Management, similarly alluded to rising yields on US debt as a wake-up call for lawmakers.
—Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 20 May 2025
That legal wake-up call signaled a shift: In a world of rising accountability, proof is no longer optional.
—Sj Studio, Sourcing Journal, 20 May 2025
Verb
Then, the boy in the coffin wakes up — and so does Zsa-Zsa.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 18 May 2025
Kristin Kramer woke up early on a Tuesday morning 10 years ago because one of her dogs needed to go out.
—Paula Span, New York Times, 17 May 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 25 May. 2025.
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