Definition

Noun: 1. A requested morning telephone call: A service, typically from a hotel or telephone operator, where a person receives a telephone call at a pre-arranged time to ensure they wake up. 2. A jarring alert or warning: An event or piece of information that serves as a strong warning, prompting someone to realize a danger, problem, or need for immediate action that they had previously ignored or underestimated.

Examples

• Noun (Service):

  • I asked the front desk for a wake-up call at 6:30 AM for my early flight.
  • Don't forget to schedule a wake-up call so we aren't late for the tour.

• Noun (Warning):

  • The recent data breach was a wake-up call for the company to invest in better cybersecurity.
  • His doctor said the chest pains should be a wake-up call to start exercising and eating better.

Advanced Usage

• "to serve as a wake-up call": To function as the event that alerts someone to a problem.
  • The failed product launch served as a wake-up call for the entire marketing department.
• "to get a wake-up call": To experience the event that prompts a realization.
  • After seeing his cholesterol levels, he finally got the wake-up call he needed.

Variants and Related Words

• Alarm call (n): Primarily a British English synonym for the telephone service meaning.
• Reality check (n): A similar concept referring to an event that makes someone face reality, though it may lack the same urgency for immediate action as a "wake-up call."
• Warning (n): A more general term for an indication of potential danger or problems.

Synonyms

• Alert: A warning of immediate danger.
• Cautionary tale: A story or event serving as a warning.
• Jolt: A sudden shock that causes someone to act or think differently.
• Revelation: A surprising and previously unknown fact that is revealed, often causing a change in perspective.

Related Idioms

• A shot across the bow: A warning event intended to change someone's behavior before more severe action is taken.
  • The lawsuit was a shot across the bow, a wake-up call for the industry to change its practices.
• A sign of the times: An event that characterizes or reveals the problems of the current period, often acting as a collective wake-up call.
  • Many see the extreme weather patterns as a sign of the times and a wake-up call on climate change.

Noun

1. a telephone call that you request be made a specific time in order to wake you up at that time (especially in hotels)
   • she left a wake-up call for 7 a.m.
2. a warning to take action concerning something that was overlooked or neglected
   • the bombing was a wake-up call to strengthen domestic security