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⏰ A wake alarm 🔋 A device trigger
wake-up signal

wake-up signal

3.6
A sound that makes people get out of bed, often used in camps or the military
  • noun
  • Jargon
translation icon : señal de despertar
  • The sound of the wake-up signal echoed through the barracks at dawn.

Examples

  • Soldiers must be ready to move as soon as the wake-up signal is heard.

  • The camp replaces the traditional bugle with an electronic wake-up signal.

  • The wake-up signal rang loudly at dawn.

  • Did you hear the wake-up signal this morning?

  • The sound of the wake-up signal echoed through the barracks at dawn.

  • Soldiers must be ready to move as soon as the wake-up signal is heard.

  • The camp replaces the traditional bugle with an electronic wake-up signal.

Synonyms

reveille
vswake-up signal
7 9.8

A signal played on a bugle to wake soldiers at sunrise

is a general military signal to rouse people, not only a bugle call

How Loud

siren
259 2.9
alarm
842 1.0
wake-up signal
  • Jargon
3.6
bell
221 1.0
to chime
61 3.0

Surface Forms

wake-up signal singular
wake-up signals plural

Morphology

wake-up + signal

The meaning is directly compositional: 'wake-up' (to cause something to stop sleeping or leave a low-power state) combined with 'signal' (an electronic transmission) yields 'a signal that wakes a device.' Although domain-specific and hyphenated, the sense follows regular English verb+noun compounding and is easily inferable by a B1 learner who knows the constituents.

Etymology

Wake-up signal comes from old military life. When a bugle or trumpet was sounded at dawn, it made soldiers wake up, so the phrase means 'a signal to wake people from sleep'.