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oversleep

[oh-ver-sleep]
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verb (used without object), o·ver·slept, o·ver·sleep·ing.
  1. to sleep beyond the proper or intended time of waking: He overslept and missed his train.
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verb (used with object), o·ver·slept, o·ver·sleep·ing.
  1. to sleep beyond (a certain hour): She had overslept her usual time of arising.
  2. to let (oneself) sleep past the hour of arising: Of all mornings to oversleep myself!
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for overslept

Historical Examples

  • She overslept and missed her first recitation yesterday morning.

    Grace Harlowe's Return to Overton Campus

    Jessie Graham Flower

  • All might have gone smoothly if only she had not overslept one morning in late September.

    Dust

    Mr. and Mrs. Haldeman-Julius

  • Well, the fact is, I overslept and decided to omit the breakfast.

    The Woman-Haters

    Joseph C. Lincoln

  • Eddie was Pheeny's nurse that night and overslept in the morning.

    In a Little Town

    Rupert Hughes

  • A conscience that had overslept itself began to stir and waken.

    Quin

    Alice Hegan Rice

British Dictionary definitions for overslept

oversleep

verb -sleeps, -sleeping or -slept
  1. (intr) to sleep beyond the intended time for getting up
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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

v.

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

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper