wise up

B2 informal inseparable intransitive

In simple words

Stop being silly or clueless and start understanding what is really going on.

Literal meaning: To become more 'wise' in an upward direction — the 'up' suggests moving to a higher level of understanding.

Meanings

1 B2 idiomatic informal

common

To stop being naive or foolish and begin to understand the real situation.

"You need to wise up — nobody is going to give you a promotion just for showing up on time."

""It's time for America to wise up.""
— Commonly attributed to political commentary; widely used in US editorial writing, e.g. New York Post headlines, 2000s–2010s.

Grammar: inseparable

2 C1 idiomatic informal

uncommon

To make someone else aware of the true facts of a situation; to inform or alert someone.

"Her older sister wised her up about how competitive the job market really was."

Grammar: separable

Usage notes

Often used as an imperative ('Wise up!') to tell someone they are being foolish. Can also take a reflexive sense ('You need to wise up'). Common in American and British informal speech. Sometimes implies mild irritation on the part of the speaker.

Commonly used with

finally quickly need to time to people kids

Forms

Base

wise up

I/you/we/they

3rd person

wises up

he/she/it

Past simple

wised up

yesterday

Past participle

wised up

have + pp

-ing form

wising up

continuous

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