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

Participants reported their typical bedtimes and wake-up times on weekdays and weekends.

From Science Daily

It was a wasteland of corporate buzzwords, 4 a.m. wake-up routines and stories about overcoming workplace adversity with a little something called grit.

From The Wall Street Journal

I think that was a wake-up call for people in the national security space that there were opportunities for improvement in America’s ability in manufacturing its own solutions.

From The Wall Street Journal

If there are young kids in the house, giddy early wake-up calls are a given.

From BBC

That was a wake-up call to the people of Grand Rapids.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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