sleepover

American

[sleep-oh-ver] / ˈslipˌoʊ vər /

noun

an instance of sleeping over, as at another person's house.
a person who sleeps over.

sleepover British

/ ˈsliːpˌəʊvə /

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of sleepover

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

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.

Maye always looks like he’s just come home from a sleepover.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026

Though the scene seems like something out of a movie, it is in fact a whimsical sleepover at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

From Barron's • Oct. 25, 2025

“Ralph Breaks the Internet” co-writer Pamela Ribon, who also voiced Snow for that film’s epic Disney princess sleepover scene, doesn’t hit the high notes like Caselotti did.

From Salon • Mar. 29, 2025

It felt like a surprise sleepover for her kids, she said, as she wondered whether they would be able to go home again.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2025

I made the mistake of mentioning the whole sleepover thing to my parents, which is why I’m going.

From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023