wise up
Britishverb
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slang (often foll by to) to become or cause to become aware or informed (of)
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(tr) to make more intellectually demanding or sophisticated
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.
The public is finally starting to wise up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
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
Brett Baird, the office manager for Green Home Solutions, which does weatherization work in Pennsylvania and New Jersey under agreements with local utilities, said consumers are just beginning to wise up.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2022
There are deals being signed left and right, they say, as more people wise up.
From The Verge ● Feb. 11, 2022
I began to wise up to the whole lay when you got me out of jail.”
From The Coyote A Western Story by James Roberts
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.
