sleeping partner

American

noun

British.

silent partner.

sleeping partner British

noun

Also: silent partner. a partner in a business who does not play an active role, esp one who supplies capital

"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 sleeping partner

First recorded in 1775–85

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 tried to call my sleeping partner, who didn't answer, so he then called the Ossining police.

From Salon • May 27, 2023

Still, snoring itself is not a disorder, no matter what your sleeping partner might say.

From New York Times • May 12, 2022

Every night around 2 a.m., my sleeping partner wakes me up because she’s thirsty and needs a bathroom break.

From New York Times • Nov. 11, 2021

It's almost always the sleeping partner who nudges a snorer to see Tagge in the first place.

From US News • Jun. 16, 2015

“We might consider a sleeping partner who’d be content with his profit on the money he supplied,” he said.

From The Secret of the Reef by Bindloss, Harold

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