sleep
Americanverb (used without object)
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sleeps,
present (3rd person singular)
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slept,
past participle, past
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sleeping
present participle
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to take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, of consciousness; cease being awake.
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Botany. to assume, especially at night, a state similar to the sleep of animals, marked by closing of petals, leaves, etc.
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to be dormant, quiescent, or inactive, as faculties.
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to be careless or unalert; allow one's alertness, vigilance, or attentiveness to lie dormant.
While England slept, Germany prepared for war.
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to lie in death.
They are sleeping in their tombs.
verb (used with object)
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sleeps,
present (3rd person singular)
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slept,
past participle, past
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sleeping
present participle
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to take rest in (a specified kind of sleep).
He slept the sleep of the innocent.
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to accommodate for sleeping; have sleeping accommodations for.
This trailer sleeps three people.
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to spend or pass in sleep (usually followed by away orout ).
to sleep the day away.
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to recover from the effects of (a headache, hangover, etc.) by sleeping (usually followed by off oraway ).
noun
verb phrase
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sleep together to be sexual partners; have a sexual relationship.
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sleep around to have sexual relations with many partners, especially in a casual way; be sexually promiscuous.
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sleep over to spend one or more nights in a place other than one's own home.
Two friends will sleep over this weekend.
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sleep out
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(especially of domestic help) to sleep away from one's place of employment.
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Chiefly Northern U.S. to sleep away from one's home.
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to sleep outdoors.
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sleep on to postpone making a decision about for at least a day.
to sleep on a proposal till the end of the week.
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sleep in
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(especially of domestic help) to sleep where one is employed.
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to sleep beyond one's usual time of arising.
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sleep with to have sexual relations with.
idioms
noun
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a periodic state of physiological rest during which consciousness is suspended and metabolic rate is decreased See also paradoxical sleep
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botany the nontechnical name for nyctitropism
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a period spent sleeping
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a state of quiescence or dormancy
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a poetic or euphemistic word for death
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informal the dried mucoid particles often found in the corners of the eyes after sleeping
verb
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(intr) to be in or as in the state of sleep
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(intr) (of plants) to show nyctitropism
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(intr) to be inactive or quiescent
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(tr) to have sleeping accommodation for (a certain number)
the boat could sleep six
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to pass (time) sleeping
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(intr) to fail to pay attention
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poetic (intr) to be dead
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to give (something) extended consideration, esp overnight
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A natural, reversible state of rest in most vertebrate animals, occurring at regular intervals and necessary for the maintenance of health. During sleep, the eyes usually close, the muscles relax, and responsiveness to external stimuli decreases. Growth and repair of the tissues of the body are thought to occur, and energy is conserved and stored. In humans and certain other animals, sleep occurs in five stages, the first four consisting of non-REM sleep and the last stage consisting of REM sleep. These stages constitute a sleep cycle that repeats itself about five times during a normal episode of sleep. Each cycle is longer that the one preceding it because the length of the REM stage increases with every cycle until waking occurs. Stage I is characterized by drowsiness, Stage II by light sleep, and Stages III and IV by deep sleep. Stages II and III repeat themselves before REM sleep (Stage V), which occurs about 90 minutes after the onset of sleep. During REM sleep, dreams occur, and memory is thought to be organized. In the stages of non-REM sleep, there are no dreams, and brain activity decreases while the body recovers from wakeful activity. The amount and periodicity of sleep in humans vary with age, with infants sleeping frequently for shorter periods, and mature adults sleeping for longer uninterrupted periods.
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See also non-REM sleep REM sleep
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sleepsimple
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sleepssimple
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have sleptperfect
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has sleptperfect
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am sleepingprogressive
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are sleepingprogressive
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is sleepingprogressive
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have been sleepingperfect progressive
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has been sleepingperfect progressive
Past
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sleptsimple
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had sleptperfect
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was sleepingprogressive
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were sleepingprogressive
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had been sleepingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sleep
First recorded before 900; (for the noun) Middle English; Old English slēp (Anglian), slǣp, slāp; cognate with Dutch slaap, German Schlaf, Gothic slēps; (for the verb) Middle English slepen, Old English slēpan, slǣpan, slāpan, cognate with Old Saxon slāpan, Gothic slēpan
Explanation
If you're tired, you probably need to sleep so lie down and close your eyes. When you wake up, you'll feel much better. Everyone needs sleep and most of us get some at least once a day. Maybe that's why sleep is used in so many expressions. If you “sleep on it” you'll wait to make a decision until tomorrow. If you “sleep over,” you stay at someone's place for the night. A person who “lets sleeping dogs lie” knows when not to stir up trouble. If you slip into eternal sleep, you won't be needing any more naps.
Vocabulary lists containing sleep
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But it also can employ dubious proxies like keyboard strokes and how often your computer screen goes into sleep mode.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
It can shop for the next decade rather than the next year, placing targeted bets across sleep, gene editing, cancer and psychedelics to diversify before the obesity-drug boom eventually slows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
"What we also want to see in the longer term is interventions to prevent people from being forced to sleep rough in the first place."
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
"I've been watching this live for many days and now this is the second week I can't sleep," Louai Abu Ridi told reporters after he landed at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Many of them sleep crowded on the floor.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
State courts have repeatedly ruled that there is no single way to determine where someone lives, and judges must consider multiple factors, such as where a voter sleeps or stores personal belongings.
From Salon ● Jul. 7, 2026
She now sleeps in a plaza near where he worked.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
“Don’t desert us,” said Dwight Gaines, 65, who usually sleeps in an encampment across from the now-shuttered post office on 7th Street.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
"I can't tell you to do this, but every baby I work with sleeps on its front," said Scott-Wright.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
And now I’m here, safe, sitting up in bed, writing this by lamplight while Mimi sleeps in the bed beside me.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
The lie-flat bed was comfortable, but I only slept a couple hours max since it wasn’t a red eye.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
He slept in the room that became the bedroom for the character Henry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Many Flores inhabitants slept outside for a second night in a row, afraid to go home as hundreds of aftershocks rumbled through the area.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
As her quality of life declined, I couldn't bear the thought of Lara being alone, so for two and a half months I slept on the sofa to be close to her.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
We divided the time; my mother slept for an hour, then I slept.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
New UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham unveiled plans Wednesday to offer those sleeping rough a way off the streets by Christmas, as part of his bid to curb homelessness.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
He also vowed to end rough sleeping during his almost-decade long stint as mayor of the northern city of Manchester, but ultimately failed despite some initial success.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Andy Burnham made ending rough sleeping his first pledge when entering Downing Street in July and now says he wants "to get everyone in for Christmas".
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Then, Clancy supposedly began having problems sleeping and sent a text message that she was "really sick".
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
And then they all just stood there, like they were sleeping standing up.
From "Ida B" by Katherine Hannigan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
