reveille
Americannoun
-
a signal, as of a drum or bugle, sounded early in the morning to awaken military personnel and to alert them for assembly.
-
a signal to arise.
noun
-
a signal, given by a bugle, drum, etc, to awaken soldiers or sailors in the morning
-
the hour at which this takes place
Etymology
Origin of reveille
1635–45; < French réveillez, plural imperative of réveiller to awaken, equivalent to r ( e ) - re- + éveiller, Old French esveillier ≪ Latin ēvigilāre to watch, be vigilant ( ē- e- 1 + vigilāre to watch; see vigil)
Explanation
If you've ever heard an early morning bugle alongside a flag being raised, you know exactly what reveille sounds like. It's meant to wake everyone up in a patriotic way. This word is a modification of French imperative réveillez, which means wake up, or "Awaken!" Appropriately, the noun reveille refers to a bugle call meant to accomplish exactly this. Reveille most often occurs at sunrise in a military encampment or base when a bugler plays a familiar tune to wake up the military personnel.
Vocabulary lists containing reveille
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He studied journalism at Louisiana State University and was a columnist for the school paper, the Daily Reveille, and for Baton Rouge’s Morning Observer.
From Los Angeles Times • May 12, 2026
A two minute silence will then be observed across the UK, followed by The Reveille sounded by the State Trumpeters.
From BBC • Sep. 18, 2022
Landry and friends from LSU’s Daily Reveille student newspaper proof one another’s cover letters and personal statements, a common application requirement, over dinners during the fall semester.
From Washington Post • Jul. 2, 2020
The newspaper group included some of Nevada’s most historic newspapers — the Tonopah Times-Bonanza and Goldfield News, Reese River Reveille and Eureka Sentinel.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 30, 2017
Reveille called us to receive orders to march at sunrise, which took but little time.
From An Artilleryman's Diary by Jones, Jenkins Lloyd
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
