sleep

[ sleep ]

verb (used without object)

, slept, sleep·ing.

1. to take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, of consciousness; cease being awake.

   Synonyms: doze, drowse, nap, slumber

2. Botany. to assume, especially at night, a state similar to the sleep of animals, marked by closing of petals, leaves, etc.
3. to be dormant, quiescent, or inactive, as faculties.
4. to be careless or unalert; allow one's alertness, vigilance, or attentiveness to lie dormant:

   While England slept, Germany prepared for war.

5. to lie in death:

   They are sleeping in their tombs.

verb (used with object)

, slept, sleep·ing.

1. to take rest in (a specified kind of sleep):

   He slept the sleep of the innocent.

2. to accommodate for sleeping; have sleeping accommodations for:

   This trailer sleeps three people.

3. to spend or pass in sleep (usually followed by away or out ):

   to sleep the day away.

4. to recover from the effects of (a headache, hangover, etc.) by sleeping (usually followed by off or away ).

noun

1. the state of a person, animal, or plant that sleeps.

   Synonyms: repose, rest

2. a period of sleeping:

   a brief sleep.

   Synonyms: nap

3. dormancy or inactivity.
4. the repose of death.
5. sleeper ( def 10 ).

verb phrase

1. to postpone making a decision about for at least a day:

   to sleep on a proposal till the end of the week.

2. to spend one or more nights in a place other than one's own home:

   Two friends will sleep over this weekend.

3. to have sexual relations with.
4. 1. (especially of domestic help) to sleep where one is employed.
   2. to sleep beyond one's usual time of arising.
5. Informal. to have sexual relations with many partners, especially in a casual way; be sexually promiscuous.
6. to be sexual partners; have a sexual relationship.
7. 1. (especially of domestic help) to sleep away from one's place of employment.
   2. Chiefly Northern U.S. to sleep away from one's home.
   3. to sleep outdoors.

sleep

/ sliːp /

noun

1. See paradoxical sleep
   a periodic state of physiological rest during which consciousness is suspended and metabolic rate is decreased See also paradoxical sleep
2. See nyctitropism
   botany the nontechnical name for nyctitropism
3. a period spent sleeping
4. a state of quiescence or dormancy
5. See death
   a poetic or euphemistic word for death
6. informal.
   the dried mucoid particles often found in the corners of the eyes after sleeping

verb

1. intr to be in or as in the state of sleep
2. intr (of plants) to show nyctitropism
3. intr to be inactive or quiescent
4. tr to have sleeping accommodation for (a certain number)

   the boat could sleep six

5. trfoll byaway to pass (time) sleeping
6. intr to fail to pay attention
7. poetic.
   intr to be dead
8. sleep on it
   sleep on it to give (something) extended consideration, esp overnight

sleep

/ slēp /

1. A natural, reversible state of rest in most vertebrate animals, occurring at regular intervals and necessary for the maintenance of health. During sleep, the eyes usually close, the muscles relax, and responsiveness to external stimuli decreases. Growth and repair of the tissues of the body are thought to occur, and energy is conserved and stored. In humans and certain other animals, sleep occurs in five stages, the first four consisting of non-REM sleep and the last stage consisting of REM sleep . These stages constitute a sleep cycle that repeats itself about five times during a normal episode of sleep. Each cycle is longer that the one preceding it because the length of the REM stage increases with every cycle until waking occurs. Stage I is characterized by drowsiness, Stage II by light sleep, and Stages III and IV by deep sleep. Stages II and III repeat themselves before REM sleep (Stage V), which occurs about 90 minutes after the onset of sleep. During REM sleep, dreams occur, and memory is thought to be organized. In the stages of non-REM sleep, there are no dreams, and brain activity decreases while the body recovers from wakeful activity. The amount and periodicity of sleep in humans vary with age, with infants sleeping frequently for shorter periods, and mature adults sleeping for longer uninterrupted periods.
2. See also non-REM sleep

Other Words From

• sleepful adjective
• sleeplike adjective
• anti·sleep adjective
• under·sleep verb (used without object) underslept undersleeping

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleep¹

First recorded before 900; (for the noun) Middle English; Old English slēp (Anglian), slǣp, slāp; cognate with Dutch slaap, German Schlaf, Gothic slēps; (for the verb) Middle English slepen, Old English slēpan, slǣpan, slāpan, cognate with Old Saxon slāpan, Gothic slēpan

Word History and Origins

Origin of sleep¹

Old English slǣpan; related to Old Frisian slēpa, Old Saxon slāpan, Old High German slāfan, German schlaff limp

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. put to sleep, to put (an animal) to death in a humane way:

   to put a sick old dog to sleep.

More idioms and phrases containing sleep

• let sleeping dogs lie
• lose sleep over
• put to sleep
• asleep

Example Sentences

It’s too soon to tell you much about battery life or the new built-in sleep tracking feature, and I’ll need more time to render a long-term verdict.

From Fortune

Instead, the Academy recommends making sure that screen time does not substitute for any sleep or active time.

From Science News For Students

You’ll visit islands like Santa Cruz and Isabela and either camp on the beach or sleep on a sailboat.

From Outside Online

The team implemented training, nutrition, recovery, and sleep strategies based on where each player was in their cycle.

From Outside Online

From pretty much the second or third day until then, so almost 1,000 miles, I had been plagued by shin splints, and ended up walking 20-hour days and getting two or three hours of sleep.

From Outside Online

Lee would stay up late, unable to sleep from the pains he had in his back.

From The Daily Beast

On some Sundays he came to church with only two hours of sleep.

From The Daily Beast

Zubaydah and two other detainees were subsequently waterboarded, and subjected to other methods including sleep deprivation.

From The Daily Beast

Detainees there were subject to sleep deprivation, shackled to bars with their hands above their heads.

From The Daily Beast

He was slapped, grabbed in the face, placed in stress positions, placed in standing sleep deprivation, and doused with water.

From The Daily Beast

At last Aristide fed him desperately, dandled him eventually to sleep, and returned to an excited pillow.

From Project Gutenberg

Punch scratched himself in his sleep, and Judy moaned a little.

From Project Gutenberg

Until we work up some weeks' reserve of water, food and cartridges, I shan't sleep sound.

From Project Gutenberg

The white light of the moon had fallen upon the world like the mystery and the softness of sleep.

From Project Gutenberg

So how do you suppose Yung Pak's mother used to put him to sleep in this land where cradles were unknown?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bed down
• doze
• fall asleep
• languish
• relax
• snooze