catnap

[kat-nap]

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noun

a short, light nap or doze.

verb (used without object), cat·napped, cat·nap·ping.

to doze or sleep lightly.

Origin of catnap

An Americanism dating back to 1815–25; cat + nap¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for catnapping

relax, snooze, doze, languish, nod, catnap, rest, sleep, rack, drowse, hibernate, crash, oversleep, slumber, bunk, repose, flop, retire, yawn, nap

Examples from the Web for catnapping

Historical Examples of catnapping

It wasn't deep, but it had cost him blood and pain and the few minutes of catnapping he might have snatched.
Duel on Syrtis
Poul William Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for catnapping

catnap

noun

a short sleep or doze

verb -naps, -napping or -napped

(intr) to sleep or doze for a short time or intermittently

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for catnapping

catnap

also cat-nap, cat's nap, by 1823, from cat (n.) + nap (n.). A nap such as a cat takes. As a verb from 1859.