slumber
Americanverb (used without object)
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to sleep, especially lightly; doze; drowse.
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to be in a state of inactivity, negligence, quiescence, or calm.
Vesuvius is slumbering.
verb (used with object)
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to spend or pass (time) in slumbering (often followed by away, out, orthrough ).
to slumber the afternoon away.
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to dispel or forget by slumbering (often followed byaway ).
to slumber cares away.
noun
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Sometimes slumbers. sleep, especially light sleep.
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a period of sleep, especially light sleep.
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a state of inactivity, quiescence, etc.
verb
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(intr) to sleep, esp peacefully
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(intr) to be quiescent or dormant
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to spend (time) sleeping
noun
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(sometimes plural) sleep
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a dormant or quiescent state
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have slumberedperfect
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has slumberedperfect 3rd person singular
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is slumberingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been slumberingperfect progressive
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has been slumberingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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slumberingparticiple
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am slumberingprogressive 1st person singular
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are slumberingprogressive
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slumberssingular 3rd person
Past
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had slumberedperfect
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was slumberingprogressive singular
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had been slumberingperfect progressive
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slumberedsimple
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were slumberingprogressive plural
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slumberedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of slumber
1175–1225; (v.) Middle English slumeren, frequentative of slumen to doze, derivative of Old English slūma sleep ( see -er 6); compare German schlummern; (noun) Middle English slomur, slomber, derivative of the v.
Explanation
Slumber means "sleep" — as a verb or noun. If you're a sound sleeper, you might slumber peacefully right through a thunderstorm, your slumber undisturbed. To slumber is to sleep, sometimes specifically to sleep lightly or doze. You can slumber in your bed, in your airplane seat, or through your alarm in the morning. Slumber can also describe a peacefulness, like your quiet street that seems to slumber early in the morning. The phrase slumber party was first used in the 1940s to mean a gathering held at night, that usually involves very little slumbering.
Vocabulary lists containing slumber
Beowulf vocabulary
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The Blood of Olympus
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Nehru's "Tryst with Destiny" Speech
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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.
That includes my first wilderness campsite near Ford Point, where a several-thousand-pound elephant seal roused me from slumber with its jarring bark.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2026
Looking at its daily chart this has lagged the energy complex since last December but I believe it will come out of its slumber shortly.
From Barron's • Apr. 16, 2026
Nvidia’s stock has awakened from its slumber, clocking its seventh consecutive day of gains.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
Football awoke from its slumber in June 2020, squeezing the end of a season into a couple of months.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
Over time, I’d learned ways to trick myself into slumber.
From "Willodeen" by Katherine Applegate
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.
