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
Etymology
Origin of asleep
before 1000; Middle English o slæpe, aslepe, Old English on slǣpe; see 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.
After she finally sought treatment, she wrote, the medication she was prescribed flattened her — in one instance she fell asleep for hours on the set of “Nashville.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Thatcher’s warbly voice hangs in the air; tales of the Leatherman and lost daughters spinning around your brain as you try to fall asleep.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Darren Rudge, a BBC radio broadcaster known as the Laughing Gardener, said lawns were "asleep rather than dead".
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
One in particular struck me, telling us that before you go to bed, review all your deeds of the day three times before you fall asleep.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
ON the night of Sancho's seventh day as governor, just when he began to fall asleep, there was a great commotion outside.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
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.
