fall asleep

Idioms  

1. Go to sleep; also, cease paying attention. For example, As soon as the lights were dimmed he fell asleep, or His lectures are so dull that I fall asleep. The literal usage, which uses the verb fall in the sense of “succumb,” dates from about 1300; the figurative is several centuries newer. Also see asleep at the switch.

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Example Sentences

She’d chugged a Red Bull, which she never did, and couldn’t fall asleep.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

It knows how long it takes you to fall asleep and reports alleged wakeups in the middle of the night.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 29, 2026

“How do you fall asleep on one side of the community?”

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2026

Lydia, 37, said the dog-loving family were all "up and showered" at 04:30 and Caitlyn did not fall asleep until she got back to her home at 19:30.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

That night, after Josie’s father and the mysterious woman went away, Josie meant to quietly burrow deeper into the blankets and fall asleep until morning.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• bed down
• doze
• languish
• relax
• snooze