Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - wake-up call

(wake-up calls) 1. A wake-up call is a telephone call that you can book through an operator or at a hotel to make sure that you wake up at a particular time. N-COUNT: usu sing 2. If you say that something is a wake-up call to a person or group of people, you mean that it will make them notice something and start to take action. The Ambassador said he hoped the statement would serve as a wake-up call to the government. N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N to n