knock up

British
as in to wake
to cause to stop sleeping I asked the clerk at the hotel to knock me up at 7:00 a.m.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of knock up Meanwhile, while Miranda busies herself with building a pageant empire, her husband Ray, a pill-popping nurse, has knocked up the 18-year-old granddaughter of one of his hospice patients. Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025 Julia, worried, maintains that she’s not knocked up. Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 15 Aug. 2025 With 200 hp worth of empty space to play with before knocking up against the 600-hp V12 Verado, Mercury is dialing up the overall output of the V10 range by adding a new 425-hp variant as the flagship of the family. New Atlas, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for knock up
Verb
  • Ames Ward, the producer who was seen on the stream waking Speed up that very morning, says the experience of bringing Speed to so many cities in little more than a month was simply incredible.
    Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 5 Oct. 2025
  • Do not wake me up under any circumstances.
    Virginia Chamlee, PEOPLE, 4 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • With the nation’s freedom hanging in the balance, the founders discover true liberty cannot only be written into law – it must be awakened in the hearts of the people.
    Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Cases are flooding the courts, with hearings in DC’s local criminal court routinely lasting late into the night and federal prosecutors awakened for new cases.
    Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Kyiv awoke to loud explosions, drones flying overhead and air defenses booming.
    Pavel Polityuk, USA Today, 28 Sep. 2025
  • After a lifeless Eagles offense awoke with a third-quarter touchdown to pull within 26-14, Davis forced Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford out of bounds on a punt-forcing sack by chasing him halfway across the field.
    Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 22 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Knock up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knock%20up. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.

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