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forty winks
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noun Informal.
a short nap.
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Origin of forty winks
First recorded in 1815â25
Words nearby forty winks
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use forty winks in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for forty winks
forty winks
noun
(functioning as singular or plural) informal a short light sleep; nap
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
Cultural definitions for forty winks
forty winks
A nap; a short sleep: âIf you're feeling drowsy, take forty winks; I'll wake you when our guests arrive.â
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with forty winks
forty winks
A brief nap, as in There's just time for forty winks before we have to leave. This expression supposedly was first recorded in 1828 and relies on wink in the sense of âsleep,â a usage dating from the 14th century.
The American HeritageÂź Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.