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RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

nocturnal emission, nocturnal enuresis, nocturnal myoclonus, nocturne, nocuous, nod, nod off, nod out, nodal, nodal bradycardia, nodal escape

Idioms

    give the nod to, Informal. to express approval of; agree to: The board gave the nod to the new proposal.
    on the nod,
    1. British Slang. on credit.
    2. Slang. drowsy following a dose of a narcotic drug.

Origin of nod

1350–1400; Middle English nodde, of uncertain origin

Related forms

nod·der, nounnod·ding·ly, adverbun·nod·ding, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for nod off (1 of 2)

nod off

verb

(intr, adverb) informal to fall asleep

British Dictionary definitions for nod off (2 of 2)

nod

/ (nɒd) /

verb nods, nodding or nodded

noun

See also nod off, nod out

Derived Forms

nodding, adjective, noun

Word Origin for nod

C14 nodde, of obscure origin
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

Idioms and Phrases with nod off (1 of 2)

nod off

Fall asleep momentarily, doze, as in Grandma spends a lot of time in her rocking chair, nodding off now and then. This expression alludes to the quick involuntary dropping of one's head from an upright position when drowsy or napping. The verb nod alone was so used from the mid-1500s. Also see drop off, def. 1.

Idioms and Phrases with nod off (2 of 2)

nod

In addition to the idiom beginning with nod

  • nodding acquaintance
  • nod off

also see:

  • get the nod
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.