How to Use wake-up call in a Sentence

wake-up call

noun
  • The loss to the Celtics was a wake-up call for the Heat.
    Ira Winderman, sun-sentinel.com, 7 Nov. 2021
  • His face hit the plate, and that was a wake-up call for him.
    Meilan Solly, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Aug. 2020
  • Some saw the school board vote as a wake-up call for Democrats.
    Hanna Panreck, Fox News, 20 Feb. 2022
  • And for a wider range of investors, the near-miss is a wake-up call.
    Julia Horowitz, CNN, 8 Oct. 2022
  • The goal was a wake-up call as the tide turned back in the Warriors favor.
    Mike Morea, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 11 Nov. 2021
  • For the Clinton 12, as the group would come to be known, the first week was a wake-up call.
    Adam Harris, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2020
  • With this wake-up call, there have been many pros in a sea of cons.
    San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2021
  • Braun said the skid was a wake-up call for her team, which hasn’t lost since.
    Jason Frakes, The Courier-Journal, 20 June 2021
  • The pandemic served as a wake-up call for a many of us.
    Mike Weinberger, Rolling Stone, 27 July 2022
  • There were just a few that needed to have a wake-up call.
    John Talty | Jtalty@al.com, al, 2 July 2020
  • Julie, what has been the biggest wake-up call for you this year?
    WSJ, 13 Dec. 2020
  • Watch the moment Ariella gives her mom the best wake-up call!
    Sarah Scanlan, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2023
  • And wild food is the antidote: a wake-up call for the senses.
    Gabriel Popkin, Washington Post, 15 Aug. 2022
  • The move served as a wake-up call, but there was no time for a pity party.
    Roy Lang Iii, Indianapolis Star, 30 Jan. 2020
  • Her now-fiancé stepped in to cover the cost—but the moment was a wake-up call.
    Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 9 May 2022
  • The last year has been a wake-up call for parents of school-age children.
    Ada Tseng, Los Angeles Times, 3 Mar. 2021
  • For Shirley Rackner, the past year has been a wake-up call.
    oregonlive, 5 June 2021
  • Waking up alone on the basement floor might be a wake-up call for him.
    Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 28 Nov. 2020
  • The Senate action this week was something of a wake-up call.
    Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 19 Feb. 2022
  • There's a buzz about some lazy Brood X cicadas that might have missed their wake-up call.
    Rae Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 17 May 2022
  • This is a wake-up call, and more people woke up this time than before.
    Leyla Santiago, CNN, 15 June 2020
  • Perhaps the concussion and black eye should have been a wake-up call to slow down.
    Malia Griggs, SELF, 21 Jan. 2020
  • The invasion has certainly been a wake-up call for the West.
    NBC News, 9 Apr. 2022
  • Maybe this could be a wake-up call for our starting group, just to play harder.
    Anne M. Peterson, orlandosentinel.com, 30 May 2021
  • The huge drain on government finances should have been a wake-up call.
    Anna Home, Variety, 4 Feb. 2022
  • So perhaps Tuesday was a wake-up call not just for Biden.
    Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2021
  • Give a wake-up call with a Cuban-style espresso coffee pot.
    Doreen Christensen, sun-sentinel.com, 12 Dec. 2019
  • The loss was a wake-up call but the Magic maintained their perspective.
    Khobi Price, Orlando Sentinel, 4 Oct. 2022
  • One more thing to bear in mind: Dr. Russo says that memory foam mattresses can trap heat, which can lead to a sweaty wake-up call.
    Sara Coughlin, SELF, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Venema says that Musk’s use of algorithmic heating should be a wake-up call.
    WIRED, 15 Feb. 2023

Some of 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.

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