wake up one day

verb

To undergo an overnight change, often an unplanned one (used with and).

“The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys must have been fueled by some event, as no reasonable person would wake up one day and decide they hated everyone in the other family.”

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Meanings

verbwake up one day (third-person singular simple present wakes up one day, present participle waking up one day, simple past woke up one day, past participle woken up one day)

present singular third person wakes up one day · participle present waking up one day · past woke up one day · participle past woken up one day

  1. idiomaticinformalTo undergo an overnight change, often an unplanned one (used with and).

    The feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys must have been fueled by some event, as no reasonable person would wake up one day and decide they hated everyone in the other family.

Cite this entry
APA

wake up one day. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wake%20up%20one%20day

MLA

“wake up one day.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wake%20up%20one%20day. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wake up one day,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wake%20up%20one%20day.

Source: wake up one day on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.