wake-up
Americannoun
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an act or instance of waking up.
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an act or instance of being awakened.
I asked the hotel desk for a wake-up at 6.
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a time of awaking or being awakened.
I'll need a 5 o'clock wake-up to make the early plane.
adjective
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serving to wake one from sleep.
Tell the front desk you want a wake-up call.
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serving to arouse or alert.
a wake-up call on the problems of pollution.
noun
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informal an alert or intelligent person
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informal to be fully alert to (a person, thing, action, etc)
Etymology
Origin of wake-up
First recorded in 1835–45; noun, adj. use of verb phrase wake up
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.
Wake up from your post-World Series slumber, Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2025
"Wake up, it's baby day," she told him but found him "stiff and cold" and attempted emergency first aid until an ambulance arrived at their home in Stretford, Greater Manchester.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2024
“It’s definitely emotional for me. I’m proud of myself and proud of my linemates. Wake up tomorrow and move on. You can’t sit on this kind of stuff.”
From Washington Times • Oct. 31, 2023
This year, the alarm rang louder and more ominously, and the message was even more pressing: Wake up and take action — right now.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 22, 2023
"Wake up, you two. It's dinnertime. Let's go, Chantal."
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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.
