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
Omar Kelly
october 20, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2025
The tour ended at a ranch, where we were greeted with cold towels, bottled water and a proper Vincy breakfast—a reward that made the early wake-up worth it.
—Essence, 18 Oct. 2025
Zac Ntim, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
And veteran infielder Miguel Rojas does give Roberts the credit for waking up the champions with a meeting in Baltimore.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 Oct. 2025
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
While every team has its own evaluation of players available in free agency and the NFL draft, maybe the realization that Gabriel was the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns served as a wake-up call for the staff.
—Omar Kelly
october 20, Miami Herald, 20 Oct. 2025
The tour ended at a ranch, where we were greeted with cold towels, bottled water and a proper Vincy breakfast—a reward that made the early wake-up worth it.
—Essence, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
Directed by Moses from a screenplay he co-wrote with Federico Sargentone and Katja Horvat, the film follows protagonist Ham, who wakes up with a time bomb on his chest.
—Zac Ntim, Deadline, 20 Oct. 2025
And veteran infielder Miguel Rojas does give Roberts the credit for waking up the champions with a meeting in Baltimore.
—Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 19 Oct. 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 24 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share