Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

wise up to

Idioms  

  1. Make or become aware, informed or sophisticated, as in It's time someone wised you up to Mary; she's an incorrigible flirt, or As soon as Tony wised up to what the company was doing, he quit. [Slang; early 1900s] Also see put wise.

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.

When do you suppose our major universities will wise up to the notion of serving as a free farm club for the NFL and NBA?

From Los Angeles Times • May 10, 2025

All who want candor are going to have to wise up to what mainstream journalism is actually offering them and seek out voices willing to be more frank.

From Slate • May 3, 2018

As outsiders wise up to the company’s underlying problems, raising more cash may be a struggle.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 22, 2018

When are we going to wise up to that fact.

From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2016

I began to wise up to the whole lay when you got me out of jail.”

From The Coyote A Western Story by Roberts, James

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.