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 WebBeth Greenfield, Fortune Well, 21 May 2024
At least once during your stay, request an early wake-up call to discover a deserted city.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 18 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for wake-up 
Adjective
Mel Musto—Bloomberg/Getty Images The Change Healthcare cyberattack that disrupted nationwide health care systems earlier this year—affecting a third of Americans at a total loss of $100 million—was a major wake-up call: Such attacks in the health care industry are on the rise.
—Beth Greenfield, Fortune Well, 21 May 2024
At least once during your stay, request an early wake-up call to discover a deserted city.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 18 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for wake-up
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.
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 1 Jun. 2024.
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