oversleep

[ oh-ver-sleep ]

/ ˌoʊ vərˈslip /

verb (used without object), o·ver·slept, o·ver·sleep·ing.

to sleep beyond the proper or intended time of waking: He overslept and missed his train.

verb (used with object), o·ver·slept, o·ver·sleep·ing.

to sleep beyond (a certain hour): She had overslept her usual time of arising.

to let (oneself) sleep past the hour of arising: Of all mornings to oversleep myself!

RELATED WORDS

hibernate, crash, languish

Nearby words

Origin of oversleep

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at over-, sleep

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for overslept

Owing to her restless night, Priscilla overslept and had to dress in a hurry to avoid being late to breakfast.
Peggy Raymond's Way|Harriet Lummis Smith
However, to their joy they found that others had also overslept themselves.
Winter Adventures of Three Boys|Egerton R. Young
He went home, but overslept himself, and had to dress in a hurry.
Jack Harkaway's Boy Tinker Among The Turks|Bracebridge Hemyng
Wouldnt it be tough if some time we all overslept and didnt wake up till spring!
The Bungalow Boys North of Fifty-Three|Dexter J. Forrester

He had taken a nap and overslept, and here he was, right in the hen-house, in broad daylight.
The Adventures of Unc' Billy Possum|Thornton W. Burgess

British Dictionary definitions for overslept

oversleep

/ (ˌəʊvəˈsliːp) /

verb -sleeps, -sleeping or -slept

(intr) to sleep beyond the intended time for getting up

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

Word Origin and History for overslept

oversleep

late 14c., from over- + sleep (v.). Related: Overslept; oversleeping. Old English had a noun oferslæp "too much sleep."