naptime

[ nap-tahym ]

noun

1. a time set aside for taking a nap; a period during which one naps.

Example Sentences

Over the past two years, I’ve said yes to hundreds of extra desserts, at least 20 new Hot Wheels cars from the dollar bin at the pharmacy, 20 more minutes at the playground that inevitably lead to naptime meltdowns when we’re thrown off our schedule.

From Time

It was nearing naptime and so the three hurried to grab groceries, worrying that the baby would get fussy after too long.

From The Daily Beast

My last book, The Language of Flowers, I wrote completely on naptime, when my little kids were asleep.

From The Daily Beast

More About Naptime

What does naptime mean?

Naptime is the time of day during which a person, especially a child, takes a nap.

A nap is a short period of sleep. The word almost always refers to a period of sleep that is separate from one’s main period of (often nighttime) sleep for the day.

Naptime can refer to the time when the nap is supposed to start or to the entire duration of the nap.

Naptime is especially associated with young children. While adults also take naps, young children often have a scheduled naptime (or multiple naptimes) every day when they take a nap (or are supposed to take a nap). For example, a baby might have a naptime around mid-morning and again in the afternoon. The children in a daycare or preschool class may have naptime some time after lunch.

Example: I never liked naptime when I was a child, but as an adult, I wish it were part of the workday.

Where does naptime come from?

The first records of the word naptime come from the 1850s. The word time is used to indicate a period that has been set aside for a specific activity or a period during which an activity takes place. It’s used in the same way in other compound words, such as dinnertime, “the time at which people eat dinner.”

The word bedtime is also used in the context of sleep, but it means something different—“the time at which a person goes to bed (or goes to sleep) for the night or for the main sleep of the day.”

Children’s health experts recommend that toddlers take a 1–3 hour nap during the day in order to reach the 12–14 hours of sleep they are supposed to get every day. According to most sleep experts, adults benefit from shorter naps, since sleeping for longer than 30 minutes can result in a deeper stage of sleep, causing grogginess or interfering with nighttime sleep.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms of naptime?

• naptimes (plural)

What are some words that share a root or word element with naptime? 

 

• nap
• bedtime
• dinnertime
• lunchtime
• nighttime
• daytime

What are some words that often get used in discussing naptime?

 

• sleep
• baby
• infant
• toddler
• child
• morning
• afternoon

How is naptime used in real life?

Naptime is especially used in the context of young children to refer to a set time that they’re supposed to sleep during the day.

Who else hates when you’re driving right before your kids naptime and they take like a five or 10 minute nap in the car and then when you get back to the house to put them down they don’t wanna nap ???? YOU DIDNT NAP YOU ONLY BLINKED GO TO SLEEP

— Miranda Isabel🦕 (@AquarianBaddie) February 5, 2020

Why do children fight naptime? I would give anything to nap for 2 hours

— Harper (@harpershaw10) July 13, 2018

Having to resew the same hem 5 times because my machine keeps skipping stitches is not how I intended to spend my kids' naptime

— Ferriaween (@ferriaforever) September 30, 2015

 

Try using naptime!

Which of the following times is a child’s naptime most likely to occur?

A. midnight
B. 3 a.m.
C. 1 p.m.
D. 8 p.m.