forty winks

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noun Informal.

a short nap.

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Origin of forty winks

First recorded in 1815–25

Words nearby forty winks

forty-six, forty-sixth, forty-third, forty-three, forty-two, forty winks, forum, For want of a nail the kingdom was lost, forward, forward bias, forward delivery

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use forty winks in a sentence

Forty minutes later he says, ‘I think she may have chest injuries now.’
Harry’s Daddy, and Diana’s ‘Murder’: Royal Rumors In a New Play|Tom Sykes|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I was already over forty, had hardly a nickel in my pocket and this was the biggest break in my life.
The Story Behind Lee Marvin’s Liberty Valance Smile|Robert Ward|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Almost forty years later, it seems unlikely this will ever be the case.
Juiciest ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Rumors (and Some Debunked Ones)|Rich Goldstein|January 3, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Forty-two years after its debut, The Godfather casts a long shadow over American cinema.
The Alterna-‘Godfather’: ‘A Most Violent Year’|Nick Schager|December 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

We were on it for forty minutes of the film, a considerable part of our schedule.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Botanists have enumerated between forty and fifty varieties of the tobacco plant who class them all among the narcotic poisons.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
It succeeds best in a deep rich loam in a climate ranging from forty to fifty degrees of latitude.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
After about the forty-fifth year it becomes gradually less; after seventy-five years it is about one-half the amount given.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
It was Wednesday night; over forty men sat down to the house-dinner at the Pandemonium Club.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
The moon rose on a terrified mob trudging or riding the forty miles of road between Meerut and the Mogul capital.
The Red Year|Louis Tracy

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: “If you're feeling drowsy, take forty winks; I'll wake you when our guests arrive.”

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 “sleep,” a usage dating from the 14th century.

forty winks

Origin of forty winks

Words nearby forty winks

Words related to forty winks

How to use forty winks in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for forty winks

Cultural definitions for forty winks

Other Idioms and Phrases with forty winks