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wake-up call
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Quick answer
As a noun, wake-up call means a warning to take action concerning something that was overlooked or neglected.
Meanings of wake-up call
2 meaningsnoun
A warning to take action concerning something that was overlooked or neglected
“the bombing was a wake-up call to strengthen domestic security”
A telephone call that you request be made at a specific time in order to wake you up
“she left a wake-up call for 7 a.m.”
Meanings from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).