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

After receiving her diagnosis, she embarked on the Crash world tour, where the singer describes struggling to stay focused and falling asleep mid-conversation while adjusting to her new medications.

From Los Angeles Times

Nancy's team may be making a mess of it on the pitch but what about the ones above him who, fans might say, have fallen asleep at the wheel?

From BBC

“Forensic Files” creator Paul Dowling recruited Thomas after Dowling fell asleep on a couch and woke up to the sound of his voice on a World War II documentary.

From The Wall Street Journal

He is also not the first president to nap or fall asleep during meetings — Calvin Coolidge was also a notorious napper.

From Salon

Now he’s falling asleep in public, spending most of his time redecorating and partying, and otherwise looking weaker every day.

From Salon

Related Words

• bed down
• doze
• languish
• relax
• snooze