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.
Occasionally a driver might fall asleep, but another will soon open up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
"Most of us had fallen asleep, we had closed our eyes. There was a noise, like a tyre bursting," a fellow passenger told Radio Thessaloniki.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
I’ll typically play a minimum of about three games before my eyes start to close because they’re trying to fall asleep.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
She said Holder initially fell asleep on her bed, but woke up and began beckoning Gemma, who was trying to sleep in the lounge.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
It couldn’t have been a real dream because I was not asleep.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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.
