wake-up call
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.68 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
10
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A telephone call to awaken someone at a certain time, especially one requested by the person while staying at a hotel.
American usage
noun
An alert, reminder, or call to action caused by a dramatic event.
Example Sentences
- "She requested a five a.m. wake-up call from the front desk."
- "Near-synonym: reality check"
- "The recent deaths should serve as a wake-up call to others at risk."
- "Youth violence represents an insistent, angry wake-up call to every parent, every teacher, every religious leader, every student."
- ""I will never forget the seven people who lost their lives and those who were injured, which was a real wake-up call to those of us involved in public transport and operating tram networks around the world. […].""
- "Instead, we must find an unworthy substitute for the defeat of a foe in that small grin we quickly suppress when we learn that a beheadphoned texter got hit by a car—no, not seriously injured, just bruised up enough to give him a wake-up call."
Usage
- American usage