knock up

British
as in to wake
to cause to stop sleeping I asked the clerk at the hotel to knock me up at 7:00 a.m.

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for knock up
Verb
  • With an early-rising 11-month-old, who, without fail, woke before our alarm buzzed each morning, sleep—let alone restful, continuous sleep—was a far-off dream.
    Alisha Prakash, Travel + Leisure, 14 June 2025
  • Walter was on an Amtrak train to Chicago when a Border Patrol agent woke him up at 2 in the morning.
    Cristina Jiménez, People.com, 11 June 2025
Verb
  • Leah’s inheritance becomes the inciting incident in a series of events that unravel her life: Her trip awakens a latent violence in her husband and an invigorating independent streak in her.
    Xochitl Gonzalez, The Atlantic, 13 June 2025
  • The experience was shared on Reddit, where the passenger detailed how the person seated behind him, in first class nonetheless, repeatedly tapped and slapped the person's head and hat to awaken him to help retrieve a lost earbud.
    Michael Cappetta, Travel + Leisure, 12 June 2025
Verb
  • A week later, Carlos was awoken at 5 a.m. and told to pack up.
    Allison McCann, New York Times, 11 June 2025
  • When Mendler awoke some mornings, her mom would still be tapping away at her architectural designs.
    ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 11 June 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Knock up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/knock%20up. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.

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