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 to a study that woke people up to the importance of regular exerciseIn 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 Benedek
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebL'oreal Thompson Payton, Fortune Well, 13 May 2023
One of the latest is an ultrasmall terahertz wake-up receiver chip designed by MIT engineers.
—IEEE Spectrum, 8 May 2023
Looking for an excuse to get out, Michaelis had several wake-up calls.
—Laurie Udesky, USA TODAY, 6 May 2023
With the ceremony starting at 6 a.m. Eastern time, that’s an early wake-up call.
—Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 3 May 2023
The headlines as well as social media chatter around layoffs should be a wake-up call for all organizations to strengthen their communications and retention by using company culture as the glue that holds them together.
—Dinesh Sheth, Forbes, 3 May 2023
Officials described the exam as an alarming wake-up call.
—Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, 1 May 2023
The journey has been pretty chill and easy, despite a 4 a.m. wake-up.
—Jessica Ritz, Travel + Leisure, 28 Apr. 2023
This alone should be a wake-up call to be wary of the RESTRICT Act.
—Landon Block, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2023
Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2023
Putin's Ukraine invasion 'woke up the Taiwanese people,' McCaul says April 8, 202301:35 Late Saturday, Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, which runs the coast guard, put out video on its YouTube channel showing one of its ships shadowing a Chinese warship, though did not give an exact location.
—Reuters, NBC News, 9 Apr. 2023
The soft and breathable fabric is expertly positioned to keep you cool all night long — no waking up and searching for the cool side required.
—Amy Schulman, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2023
But there are always moments for Tiger when the golf gods wake up and decide his fortunes are about to change.
—Christine Brennan, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2023
My immigrant mom, who woke up at 7 a.m. and already made breakfast and scrubbed the kitchen, would intermittently holler at my siblings and me to get up, giving us a few chances to finally roll out of bed.
—Irene Franco Rubio, refinery29.com, 6 Apr. 2023
Barbara woke up at her Lawrence home Sept. 28 and coughed up a little bit of blood, said her daughter Kami Spear.
—The Indianapolis Star, 5 Apr. 2023
But this was a wake up call.
—Elizabeth Mitchell Kadar, Good Housekeeping, 4 Apr. 2023
Explorations Wait, don’t miss out on these striking stories: — Take a look at 10 searing photos that made the world wake up to the climate crisis.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 1 Apr. 2023
See More
Adjective
Instead, Rothstein suggests using a sleep-tracking device or app that monitors your body’s movement and heart rate to help determine your body’s natural bedtime and wake-up time.
—L'oreal Thompson Payton, Fortune Well, 13 May 2023
One of the latest is an ultrasmall terahertz wake-up receiver chip designed by MIT engineers.
—IEEE Spectrum, 8 May 2023
Looking for an excuse to get out, Michaelis had several wake-up calls.
—Laurie Udesky, USA TODAY, 6 May 2023
With the ceremony starting at 6 a.m. Eastern time, that’s an early wake-up call.
—Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 3 May 2023
The headlines as well as social media chatter around layoffs should be a wake-up call for all organizations to strengthen their communications and retention by using company culture as the glue that holds them together.
—Dinesh Sheth, Forbes, 3 May 2023
Officials described the exam as an alarming wake-up call.
—Catherine E. Shoichet, CNN, 1 May 2023
The journey has been pretty chill and easy, despite a 4 a.m. wake-up.
—Jessica Ritz, Travel + Leisure, 28 Apr. 2023
This alone should be a wake-up call to be wary of the RESTRICT Act.
—Landon Block, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Apr. 2023
Verb
On a usual Sunday morning, Timm Chiusano has a somewhat extreme routine: a 4 a.m. alarm, emails, a 3.6-mile walk to the Brooklyn promenade, and a visit to the gym, all before most people wake up.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 19 Apr. 2023
Putin's Ukraine invasion 'woke up the Taiwanese people,' McCaul says April 8, 202301:35 Late Saturday, Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council, which runs the coast guard, put out video on its YouTube channel showing one of its ships shadowing a Chinese warship, though did not give an exact location.
—Reuters, NBC News, 9 Apr. 2023
The soft and breathable fabric is expertly positioned to keep you cool all night long — no waking up and searching for the cool side required.
—Amy Schulman, Peoplemag, 8 Apr. 2023
But there are always moments for Tiger when the golf gods wake up and decide his fortunes are about to change.
—Christine Brennan, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2023
My immigrant mom, who woke up at 7 a.m. and already made breakfast and scrubbed the kitchen, would intermittently holler at my siblings and me to get up, giving us a few chances to finally roll out of bed.
—Irene Franco Rubio, refinery29.com, 6 Apr. 2023
Barbara woke up at her Lawrence home Sept. 28 and coughed up a little bit of blood, said her daughter Kami Spear.
—The Indianapolis Star, 5 Apr. 2023
But this was a wake up call.
—Elizabeth Mitchell Kadar, Good Housekeeping, 4 Apr. 2023
Explorations Wait, don’t miss out on these striking stories: — Take a look at 10 searing photos that made the world wake up to the climate crisis.
—Katie Hunt, CNN, 1 Apr. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wake-up.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near wake-up
Cite this Entry
“Wake-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wake-up. Accessed 7 Jun. 2023.
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