English

Verb

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 awake.
   • 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!‎

Usage notes

When used in the context of waking up to something or someone, it insinuates that the target is near the subject when the subject wakes, often inferring every morning. Furthermore, when used regarding a person, it insinuates that the subject and the target have slept together, the subject awakening in bed to see the target in the same bed. Two people waking up to each other every morning insinuates that they sleep together so nightly, and thus are very intimate with each other.

Derived terms

• wake up and smell the coffee

Translations