sleepwalk
Americanverb (used without object)
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sleepwalks,
present (3rd person singular)
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sleepwalked,
past participle, past
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sleepwalking
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sleepwalksimple
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sleepwalkssimple
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have sleepwalkedperfect
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has sleepwalkedperfect
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am sleepwalkingprogressive
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are sleepwalkingprogressive
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is sleepwalkingprogressive
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have been sleepwalkingperfect progressive
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has been sleepwalkingperfect progressive
Past
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sleepwalkedsimple
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had sleepwalkedperfect
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was sleepwalkingprogressive
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were sleepwalkingprogressive
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had been sleepwalkingperfect progressive
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.
See Examples For:
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
Virginia transfer Cofie had just four points in the first half as Rice and Jaden Brownell led the charge during a first half the Trojans seemed to sleepwalk through at times.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2025
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
But she didn’t want to follow her mother’s advice and sleepwalk through the days.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
The supernatural flashback chapters of Dunia’s sleepwalks unpeel the layers of trapped family secrets that land Dunia in her present condition.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2024
Unfortunately, Mr. Leto sleepwalks through the role with a character that lacks the emotional terror one would expect from a man with a noble cause that tragically turns himself into a monster.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 25, 2022
She sleepwalks, talks to herself and dreads the ringing phone because the caller, “no matter the voice, will not be the voice.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2020
"The person who sleepwalks will appear to be awake but they're really not. And we know this from monitoring their brainwaves," he says.
From BBC ● Dec. 4, 2017
He said he lost 18 pounds while behind bars, and his wife said he still sleepwalks, checking the bedroom door for air as if he is still in a cell.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 24, 2017
She must have heard him cry, sleepwalked to the nursery, lifted him out of the crib while she was still asleep, then woke to discover the crib empty.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2025
When the inquiry met in Belfast last May she rejected suggestions the executive had "sleepwalked" during the pandemic.
From BBC ● May 20, 2025
Nation-states have sleepwalked into war against their better judgments, and the same could be true of states within states.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2024
The Trojans sleepwalked through the first quarter Saturday, allowing the visiting Bruins to take a 14-0 lead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2023
Sourmelina, dreaming of chorus girls, had sleepwalked across the throw rug.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
“People are kind of sleepwalking into disaster,” Nestler said.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 16, 2026
On a never-ending feed we watch the cute and profane, sleepwalking toward an emotional state beyond shock as entertainment: the banality of passive consumption.
From Slate ● May 12, 2026
"But we seem to be sleepwalking into a conclusion that will result in the next owner of Thames Water – having, doubtless, many attributes – having none of these attributes."
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
More recently, he has warned that the country is sleepwalking into economic stasis, thanks to bad policies and rules that make it hard to invest in new ventures and run companies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026
Suddenly she understood their strange blank incuriosity, the way their little trotting daemons seemed to be sleepwalking.
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
