asleep

[uh-sleep]

adverb

1. in or into a state of sleep.

   He fell asleep quickly.

2. into a dormant or inactive state; to rest.

   Their anxieties were put asleep.

3. into the state of death.

adjective

1. sleeping.

   He is asleep.

2. dormant; inactive.

3. (of the foot, hand, leg, etc.) numb.

4. dead.

asleep

/ əˈsliːp /

adjective

1. in or into a state of sleep

2. in or into a dormant or inactive state

3. (of limbs, esp when the blood supply to them has been restricted) numb; lacking sensation

4. euphemistic,  dead

Other Word Forms

• half-asleep adjective
• quasi-asleep adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of asleep¹

before 1000; Middle English o slæpe, aslepe, Old English on slǣpe; a- ¹, sleep

Idioms and Phrases

• fall asleep

Example Sentences

I was fired after being found asleep on a 300-year-old bed.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

His incarceration means he has been oblivious to the way so many aspects of everyday life have changed - almost like someone who has been asleep since the 1980s.

Read more on BBC

He’s the kind of guy weighed down by an internal inertia, asleep while standing up, stuck in a rut.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Occasionally one will actually fall asleep on camera, only to be yelled at by Atlas.

Read more on Salon

Or a recent report in the Washington Post about how the president keeps falling asleep during televised events.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• comatose 
• dormant