wake up

wake + up

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wake up (third-person singular simple present wakes up, present participle waking up, simple past woke up or waked up, past participle woken up or waked up)

1. (intransitive) To awaken.
   • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 7, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:

     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.

   • 1967, John Lennon/Paul McCartney, "A Day in the Life":

     "Woke up, fell out of bed, dragged a comb across my head"

2. (transitive) To awaken somebody.

   Wake your brother up; it's time for school.

   • 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 3, in Death on the Centre Court:

     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.”

3. (intransitive) 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!

• wake up and smell the coffee
• wake-up call

• dawn on someone
• see daylight