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

Related Words

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