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napper

1 American  
[nap-er] / ˈnæp ər /

noun

  1. a textile worker who naps cloth.

  2. a machine for putting a nap on cloth.

napper 2 American  
[nap-er] / ˈnæp ər /

noun

  1. a person who naps or dozes.

napper 1 British  
/ ˈnæpə /

noun

  1. a person or thing that raises the nap on cloth

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
napper 2 British  
/ ˈnæpə /

noun

  1. a slang or dialect word for head

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of napper1

First recorded in 1760–70; nap 2 + -er 1

Origin of napper2

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at nap 1, -er 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He is also not the first president to nap or fall asleep during meetings — Calvin Coolidge was also a notorious napper.

From Salon • Dec. 9, 2025

To be completely honest, I am a napper on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday too.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 11, 2024

A light pulse could rouse them, but after about 20 minutes of quiescence, the animals responded slowly to such pulses, much like a groggy napper.

From Scientific American • Jun. 16, 2023

Witherspoon pleaded with the dognapper, texting that her daughter relied on Avery, but the napper texted back “ha ha.”

From Washington Post • Jan. 12, 2023

Which was an odd thing for her to say because Flora's mother was not, in any way, a napper.

From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.