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
Explanation
If you're asleep, you're not awake and reading this. A baby might find it hard to fall asleep without being held and rocked. Some people snore when they're asleep, and others have strange, vivid dreams. In either case, their eyes are closed and they're in a state of rest that's close to being unconscious. You can also use asleep figuratively, to mean "numb," as when your leg falls asleep, or "inattentive," as when the opposing soccer team is asleep and your team beats them easily.
Vocabulary lists containing asleep
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.
She’d chugged a Red Bull, which she never did, and couldn’t fall asleep.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
"This study addresses a major gap by focusing on the workers who start their day when most people are still asleep."
From Science Daily • Apr. 1, 2026
"That's what I was trying to raise with them about their system. You are most vulnerable when you are asleep so you can't have a system that's not good enough."
From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026
It knows how long it takes you to fall asleep and reports alleged wakeups in the middle of the night.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026
Twice they had fallen asleep and woken in the darkness, crying out to each other in panic.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
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.
