wake-up call

noun

1
: something (such as a telephone call from a hotel employee to a guest) that serves to wake a sleeper
2
: something that serves to alert a person to a problem, danger, or need
a wake-up call to parents

Examples of wake-up call in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Our editor noted that the delicate tinkling makes for a very pleasant wake-up call and adds a calming ambiance when hanging out in the backyard on a gently breezy day. Kate McGregor, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Mar. 2023 The film’s success, argues culture minister Claudia Roth, should be a wake-up call for an overly-restrictive and bureaucratic film funding system that privileges theatrical releases even as fewer and fewer Germans are watching movies in cinemas. Scott Roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2023 Really, this is both your wake-up call and a call to action. Victoria Zambito, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2023 The rising autism numbers presented by our CDC should be a wake-up call — there are a lot of us, and what’s truly increasing is the cost of ignoring our needs. John Elder Robison, STAT, 23 Mar. 2023 The persistence of that finding should be a wake-up call for employers already battling high turnover and labor shortages. Wire Services, Dallas News, 22 Mar. 2023 Those efforts show the pandemic has been a wake-up call, Horowitz said. Rachel Scott, ABC News, 22 Mar. 2023 Texas is on an entirely different level than those teams and had a bit of a wake-up call against Penn State. Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 20 Mar. 2023 Most important, the Fed and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) got a wake-up call that their oversight of middle-size banks has been dangerously lax. Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'wake-up call.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of wake-up call was in 1974

Dictionary Entries Near wake-up call

Cite this Entry

“Wake-up call.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wake-up%20call. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

wake-up call

noun
1
: something (as a telephone call from a hotel employee to a guest) that serves to wake up a sleeper
2
: something that serves to alert a person to a problem, danger, or need

More from Merriam-Webster on wake-up call

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!