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 WebAnna North, Vox, 16 Aug. 2024
Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO Warren Buffett’s decision to sell stocks and raise record cash before sell-off sends wake-up call
Here’s what usually happens to stocks when the Fed cuts rates
Want to invest $50,000?
—Diana Olick, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2024
Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Aug. 2024
Edgerton plays Jason Dessen, a physicist, professor and family man in Chicago who gets kidnapped one night and wakes up in an alternate version of his life.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 16 Aug. 2024
See all Example Sentences for wake-up 
Adjective
Instead, some say students with disabilities leaving public schools should be a wake-up call for those schools to do better.
—Anna North, Vox, 16 Aug. 2024
Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO Warren Buffett’s decision to sell stocks and raise record cash before sell-off sends wake-up call
Here’s what usually happens to stocks when the Fed cuts rates
Want to invest $50,000?
—Diana Olick, CNBC, 13 Aug. 2024
Verb
That’s after the God of Gods wakes up one morning to discover a wrinkle on his forehead and a possible harbinger of an ancient prophecy that foretells Zeus’ destruction.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Aug. 2024
Edgerton plays Jason Dessen, a physicist, professor and family man in Chicago who gets kidnapped one night and wakes up in an alternate version of his life.
—Ryan Schwartz, TVLine, 16 Aug. 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 6 Sep. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share