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

Isabelle Mateos y Lago, chief economist at BNP, told Barron’s on Wednesday the conflict could serve as another wake-up call for world leaders.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

Watching him lose his mind so early was a wake-up call.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

Gaby Pacheco, president of TheDream.US, an organisation that provides scholarships to undocumented immigrants, told the BBC that the case should serve as a "wake-up call."

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

The “Messy” hitmaker told Rolling Stone in a recent interview that she was grateful that she fainted onstage late last year, and framed the scary ordeal as a wake-up call.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

Susan B. Anthony’s first major wake-up call about the need for women’s equality came in January 1852 when the Sons of Temperance invited Anthony to a statewide meeting in Albany, New York.

From "Votes for Women!" by Winifred Conkling

Related Words

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