sleepwalk
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have sleepwalkedperfect
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has sleepwalkedperfect 3rd person singular
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am sleepwalkingprogressive 1st person singular
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has been sleepwalkingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is sleepwalkingprogressive 3rd person singular
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have been sleepwalkingperfect progressive
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are sleepwalkingprogressive
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sleepwalkssingular 3rd person
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sleepwalkingparticiple
Past
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had sleepwalkedperfect
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had been sleepwalkingperfect progressive
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were sleepwalkingprogressive plural
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was sleepwalkingprogressive singular
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sleepwalkedsimple
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sleepwalkedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of sleepwalk
First recorded in 1920–25; back formation from sleepwalking
Explanation
To sleepwalk is to walk around despite being sound asleep. If you wake up outside in your PJ's, then, chances are, you were sleepwalking. A fancier word for sleepwalk is sonamubulate, and the act of sleepwalking is known as sonambulism by doctors who study and treat sleep disorders. It's considered a disorder to sleepwalk because normally your sleeping brain keeps you from performing actions like walking (even when you dream that you're walking). In Shakespeare's play Macbeth, there is a famous scene in which Lady Macbeth sleepwalks because of her guilty conscience.
Vocabulary lists containing sleepwalk
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.
They could sleepwalk their way through the first three quarters and still pull it out in the end.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 19, 2026
"The lack of screening meant we were allowed to believe everything was fine and sleepwalk into a situation where I was clearly pregnant to all of those around me," she said.
From BBC • Oct. 30, 2024
As they’ve done the past two seasons, it appears Phils will be content to sleepwalk through the early portion of the season, then power up in the season’s second half.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 13, 2024
Perhaps cognizant that he needs to sleepwalk through a couple more interviews before the primary on March 5, Garvey has subjected himself to short TV segments of late.
From Slate • Feb. 5, 2024
“You look like you sleepwalk through the day,” he said.
From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler
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.
