sleepover

American  

[sleep-oh-ver] / ˈslipˌoʊ vər /

noun

• sleepovers
  plural

1. an instance of sleeping over, as at another person's house.

2. a person who sleeps over.

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sleepover British  

/ ˈsliːpˌəʊvə /

noun

1. informal an instance of spending the night at someone else's home

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sleepovers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of sleepover

First recorded in 1970–75; noun use of verb phrase sleep over

Explanation

A sleepover is a night you spend sleeping at a friend's house. Some sleepovers are large gatherings of many pajama-wearing friends, while overs consist of just two people. If you're invited to a sleepover, you'll want to pack a sleeping bag, your toothbrush, and pajamas. Kids and teenagers are the most likely to attend sleepovers, which often mark the first time a child has slept away from her own bed. When a sleepover involves a group of friends, you can also call it a slumber party or pajama party. Sleepover has been used since the 1930s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sleepover sleepovers

But “Toy Story 5” has one particularly limiting scene, where Bonnie goes to her first-ever sleepover with her new friends from dance class.

From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026

Ideas to help you plan out the warm days ahead, from an alpaca encounter in Carpinteria to a glitzy sleepover in Coronado.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

I was at a sleepover and was mortified.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026

Influencer Alix Earle posted a TikTok Saturday of herself getting ready for a sleepover with her sister with the caption “Now off to watch fruit love island.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

Our sleepover at Audrey’s was tonight and I didn’t want to upset the balance, so I had kept Jenna’s secret to myself.

From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence

Walsh: I remember going to sleepovers with all of my friends and we would do Lizzie nights.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

During sleepovers, her mom, Lucia, let us watch “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

Watching these A.I. edits became a pastime for her friend group; they’d share the videos at school and at sleepovers.

From Slate ● May 12, 2026

The return of the sleepovers is good news for the museum and its visitors.

From Barron's ● Oct. 25, 2025

So while my friends got to have pool parties and sleepovers, I got to walk around one battlefield after another, posing for pictures with cannons and Colonial reenactors.

From "The Darkest Minds" by Alexandra Bracken