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 doesn’t respond to his various wake-up calls with stubborn defiance but a curiosity that shifts his moping into something akin to a geeky, fun-loving second adolescence.

From Salon • Apr. 5, 2026

The “Messy” hitmaker told Rolling Stone in a recent interview that she was grateful that she fainted onstage late last year, and framed the scary ordeal as a wake-up call.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

“The fact that non-fuel import prices increased so much is a wake-up call for policymakers and will keep the Federal Reserve in pause for longer than expected,” said Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 25, 2026

Unilever’s wake-up call came in 2017 with an unsolicited takeover approach from Kraft Heinz, then lauded for its skill in cutting costs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

A few weeks later, just after our wake-up call, I heard a sound in the courtyard that made me uneasy: it was the thud of picks and shovels on the ground.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

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