wake up
verbUS, UK /ˌweɪk ˈʌp/
Etymology From wake + up.
1
To stop sleeping; to awake.
- I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
- "Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head"1967, John Lennon/Paul McCartney, A Day in the Life:
1 more example
- I fell asleep in God's arms and woke up in hell2020, “Birds of Paradise, Birds of Prey”, performed by The Acacia Strain:
2
To awaken somebody.
- Wake your brother up; it's time for school.
- It had been his intention to go to Wimbledon, but as he himself said: “Why be blooming well frizzled when you can hear all the results over the wireless.[…]You stand by, Janet, and wake me up if they do any of that running commentary stuff.”1935, George Goodchild, chapter 3, in Death on the Centre Court:
3
To become more aware of a real-life situation; to concentrate on the matter in hand.
- Some businesses were slow to wake up to the importance of the Internet.
- That's the third time you've made the same mistake. Wake up!
1 more example
- "Elizabeth line staff are multi-skilled and operate the world's only fully digital railway, but many earn significantly less than other TfL staff in similar roles.That is clearly not an acceptable or sustainable position, and it looks as though the company is waking up to the fact."2023 May 31, “Network News: Action suspended on Elizabeth line”, in RAIL, number 984, page 21:
- Derived terms
- wake-up, wakeup, wake up and die right, wake up and smell the ashes, wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell the roses, wake-up call, wake up dead, wake up one day, wake up on the wrong side of bed
- Related terms
- dawn on someone, daylight