asleep
Americanadverb
-
in or into a state of sleep.
He fell asleep quickly.
-
into a dormant or inactive state; to rest.
Their anxieties were put asleep.
-
into the state of death.
adjective
-
sleeping.
He is asleep.
-
dormant; inactive.
-
(of the foot, hand, leg, etc.) numb.
-
dead.
adjective
-
in or into a state of sleep
-
in or into a dormant or inactive state
-
(of limbs, esp when the blood supply to them has been restricted) numb; lacking sensation
-
euphemistic dead
Other Word Forms
- half-asleep adjective
- quasi-asleep adjective
Etymology
Origin of asleep
before 1000; Middle English o slæpe, aslepe, Old English on slǣpe; a- 1, sleep
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.
The antlered escapee was eventually captured several hours later after falling asleep in the dunes of a nearby beach, before being returned to his owners.
From BBC
I was fired after being found asleep on a 300-year-old bed.
His incarceration means he has been oblivious to the way so many aspects of everyday life have changed - almost like someone who has been asleep since the 1980s.
From BBC
He’s the kind of guy weighed down by an internal inertia, asleep while standing up, stuck in a rut.
From Los Angeles Times
Occasionally one will actually fall asleep on camera, only to be yelled at by Atlas.
From Salon
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.
