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
Rita Numerof, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
The Judgement card suggests a reckoning, a powerful wake-up call to rise into your purpose and release guilt, regret, or self-doubt.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 June 2025
Kayla Becker, Travel + Leisure, 30 May 2025
What’s happening right now is an AGI race, even if most of the world hasn’t woken up to it.
—Luke Drago, Time, 30 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for wake-up
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Adjective
Teva’s restructuring should be a wake-up call, not just for generics manufacturers, but for the entire healthcare ecosystem.
—Rita Numerof, Forbes.com, 2 June 2025
The Judgement card suggests a reckoning, a powerful wake-up call to rise into your purpose and release guilt, regret, or self-doubt.
—Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 June 2025
Verb
Simply put them in overnight and wake up to blowout-esque waves.
—Kayla Becker, Travel + Leisure, 30 May 2025
What’s happening right now is an AGI race, even if most of the world hasn’t woken up to it.
—Luke Drago, Time, 30 May 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 5 Jun. 2025.
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