asleep
Americanadverb
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in or into a state of sleep.
He fell asleep quickly.
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into a dormant or inactive state; to rest.
Their anxieties were put asleep.
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into the state of death.
adjective
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sleeping.
He is asleep.
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dormant; inactive.
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(of the foot, hand, leg, etc.) numb.
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dead.
adjective
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in or into a state of sleep
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in or into a dormant or inactive state
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(of limbs, esp when the blood supply to them has been restricted) numb; lacking sensation
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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.
Chen began by massaging my scalp for about 10 minutes, as I tried not to fall asleep.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 6, 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
Many of them were asleep after celebrating till midnight at a birthday party.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Eight years later he was discovered asleep in a haphazardly parked car 15 miles from his Florida home.
From BBC • Mar. 28, 2026
With some ordinary dull adult voice droning on, so the greatest danger is that I might fall asleep.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
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.
