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• Rip Van Winkle
  Rip Van Winkle

  noun

  (in a story by Washington Irving) a ne'er-do-well who sleeps 20 years and upon waking is startled to find how much the world has changed.
• “Rip Van Winkle”
  “Rip Van Winkle”

  (1819) A story by Washington Irving. The title character goes to sleep after a game of bowling and much drinking in the mountains with a band of dwarves. He awakens twenty years later, an old man. Back home, Rip finds that all has changed: his wife is dead, his daughter is married, and the American Revolutionary War has taken place.

Rip Van Winkle

American  

[rip van wing-kuhl] / ˌrɪp væn ˈwɪŋ kəl /

noun

1. (in a story by Washington Irving) a ne'er-do-well who sleeps 20 years and upon waking is startled to find how much the world has changed.

2. (italics) the story itself, published in The Sketch Book (1819).

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Rip Van Winkle British  

/ ˈrɪp væn ˈwɪŋkəl /

noun

1. a person who is oblivious to changes, esp in social attitudes or thought

2. a person who sleeps a lot

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“Rip Van Winkle” Cultural  

1. (1819) A story by Washington Irving. The title character goes to sleep after a game of bowling and much drinking in the mountains with a band of dwarves. He awakens twenty years later, an old man. Back home, Rip finds that all has changed: his wife is dead, his daughter is married, and the American Revolutionary War has taken place.

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Etymology

Origin of Rip Van Winkle

C19: from a character who slept for 20 years, in a story (1819) by Washington Irving (1783–1859), US writer

Example Sentences

A Rip Van Winkle who slept through the last half-century and awoke on Monday, Oct.

From Salon • Nov. 1, 2025

Old Rip Van Winkle Distillery’s suggested retail price of Pappy 23-year-old is $299.99.

From Washington Times • Mar. 8, 2023

Prevailing myths: It’s not all Ichabod Crane and Sleepy Hollow, although, yes, Washington Irving’s stories still resonate, from Tarrytown north to the Rip Van Winkle Bridge, between mountains and river, Catskills and Hudson.

From Washington Post • Jul. 29, 2021

Rumors, spread through bourbon chat rooms on Reddit and other sites, claimed that Mr. Dedman had worked closely with Julian Van Winkle III, the owner of the legendary Old Rip Van Winkle whiskey company.

From New York Times • Jan. 2, 2019

According to the tale told by Washington Irving, when Rip Van Winkle awoke and returned to his village, twenty years had passed, and many things had changed.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady