wake-up

American  

[weyk-uhp] / ˈweɪkˌʌp /

noun

1. an act or instance of waking up.

2. an act or instance of being awakened.

   I asked the hotel desk for a wake-up at 6.

3. a time of awaking or being awakened.

   I'll need a 5 o'clock wake-up to make the early plane.

4. flicker.

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adjective

1. serving to wake one from sleep.

   Tell the front desk you want a wake-up call.

2. serving to arouse or alert.

   a wake-up call on the problems of pollution.

wake-up British  

noun

1. informal an alert or intelligent person

2. informal to be fully alert to (a person, thing, action, etc)

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Etymology

Origin of wake-up

First recorded in 1835–45; noun, adj. use of verb phrase wake up

Example Sentences

He said the winter should be a "wake-up call" to create more natural flood defences and wildlife-friendly escape routes - higher ground, connected green spaces and undisturbed vegetation can give animals places to retreat during storms.

From BBC

"It takes a lot of people to band together to like really make a change. It's not really in our control, but definitely I think if consumers stop spending as much they'll kind of give the brands a wake-up call," she said.

From Barron's

Ex-deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said the result "must be a wake-up call".

From Barron's

That could explain both the market’s reaction—what some see as a wake-up call to the scale of the disruption ahead—and the reality that selling stocks on the back of a speculative scenario in the midst of a broader market downturn may prove shortsighted.

From Barron's

But Jackson’s October 1984 episode was above all a political act — “this last shot at America’s mind,” he calls it in a monologue that’s part victory lap, part wake-up call.

From Salon

Related Words

• agitate
• amaze
• anger
• animate
• annoy
• astound
• bother
• delight
• disturb
• energize
• irritate
• offend
• thrill
• turn on
• vex
• work up
• worry