wake-up

[ weyk-uhp ]

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 ².

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

noun

1. informal.
   an alert or intelligent person
2. be a wake-up to informal.
   to be fully alert to (a person, thing, action, etc)

Word History and Origins

Origin of wake-up¹

First recorded in 1835–45; noun, adj. use of verb phrase wake up

Example Sentences

If 2016 was a wake-up call for those who didn’t realize how much work it would take to keep the country from falling into the hands of to a regressive, fascism-curious regime, there are far fewer people to awaken today.

From Slate

Earlier this year he warned that “there could be war in Sweden”, although that was seen as a wake-up call because he felt that moves towards rebuilding that “total defence” were progressing too slowly.

From BBC

A normal wake-up for me is 7 a.m. because we have four dogs who will not let me sleep past 7.

From Los Angeles Times

“The news of a deeply serious human case of bird flu is a massive wake-up call that should immediately mobilize efforts to prevent another human pandemic,” said Farm Forward Executive Director Andrew deCoriolis.

From Los Angeles Times

The George Floyd protests put police reform on the agenda and served as a wake-up call about the raw, contemporary dangers of structural racism, but except for its transformation into a scary right-wing bedtime story about looters and out-of-control cities, it seems to have sunk back below the surface, leaving only a few cultural ripples behind.

From Slate

Related Words

• agitate
• arouse
• awaken
• disturb
• fire up
• galvanize
• heighten
• incite
• inflame
• kindle
• provoke
• rile
• startle
• stir
• trigger
• wake up
• whip up
• work up