1.
to stop sleeping
“I wake up at 6 a.m.”
“I woke up in the middle of the night.”
“Wake up, the alarm is ringing!”
Synonyms: to awaken, to come to
Phrasal verb
What does wake up mean?
Meaning: to stop sleeping; to make someone stop sleeping
B1
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Quick answer
Wake up = to stop sleeping. I wake up at 6 = I open my eyes at 6. It is a separable phrasal verb: wake the kids up or wake up the kids. With a pronoun, the pronoun always goes in the middle: wake them up.
Meanings of the phrasal verb
2.
to make someone stop sleeping
“My mum wakes me up every morning.”
“Don't wake the baby up.”
“Can you wake me up at 7?”
Synonyms: to rouse, to disturb
3.
to start to understand something (figurative)
figurative“Wake up to the truth!”
Word order
Separable
The object can go between the verb and the particle. With a pronoun (it, them), it always goes between.
Forms
- Present Simple:
- wake up
- Past Simple:
- woke up
- Past participle:
- woken up
- -ing form:
- waking up
Common mistakes to avoid
Wake up is not get up
Wake up = to stop sleeping. Get up = to get out of bed. You can wake up and stay in bed for a while before you get up.
With a pronoun: between wake and up
Wake up is separable. With a pronoun: wake him up ✓, never wake up him ❌. With a noun, both orders work (wake the baby up / wake up the baby).
Irregular verb: woke up (not waked up)
Wake is irregular: wake → woke → woken. So you say: I woke up at 7. Never I waked up ❌.
Practice quiz
Question 1 / 3The Big Challenge question bank
Related pages: wake up
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Wake up: you understand the rule. Now practise it.
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Frequently asked questions
What does wake up mean?+
Wake up means to stop sleeping. I wake up at 6 = I stop sleeping at 6. It can also mean to make someone stop sleeping: wake the kids up.
Is wake up separable?+
Yes, it is separable. With a noun, both orders work: wake the baby up or wake up the baby. With a pronoun, the pronoun always goes in the middle: wake him up.
What is the past simple of wake up?+
Woke up, because wake is irregular. I woke up = I stopped sleeping. The past participle (the form after have) is woken up: I have woken up several times.
What is the difference between wake up and get up?+
Wake up = to stop sleeping (you open your eyes). Get up = to get out of bed. You can wake up at 6 and get up at 7.
How do you ask someone to wake you up?+
Can you wake me up, please? is friendly and polite. Could you wake me up at 7? is even more polite. Always say wake me up, never wake up me.
Related phrasal verbs
Updated on 12 November 2026 by the Big Challenge teaching team. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999. Our teaching approach →
The Big Challenge · Updated on 12 November 2026 · Source: www.thebigchallenge.com/bl/academy/learn-english/phrasal-verbs/wake-up
© The Big Challenge. Copying allowed for classroom use. Every year, more than 500,000 students across Europe take part in our English contest, created in 1999.