slumber
Americanverb (used without object)
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to sleep, especially lightly; doze; drowse.
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to be in a state of inactivity, negligence, quiescence, or calm.
Vesuvius is slumbering.
verb (used with object)
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to spend or pass (time) in slumbering (often followed by away, out, orthrough ).
to slumber the afternoon away.
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to dispel or forget by slumbering (often followed byaway ).
to slumber cares away.
noun
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Sometimes slumbers. sleep, especially light sleep.
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a period of sleep, especially light sleep.
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a state of inactivity, quiescence, etc.
verb
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(intr) to sleep, esp peacefully
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(intr) to be quiescent or dormant
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to spend (time) sleeping
noun
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(sometimes plural) sleep
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a dormant or quiescent state
Other Word Forms
- slumberer noun
- slumberless adjective
- unslumbering adjective
Etymology
Origin of slumber
1175–1225; (v.) Middle English slumeren, frequentative of slumen to doze, derivative of Old English slūma sleep ( -er 6 ); compare German schlummern; (noun) Middle English slomur, slomber, derivative of the v.
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.
Natural disasters are inevitable, but often, the most devastating slumber for decades, sometimes centuries, only awakening when provoked.
From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026
However, if the U.S. bats do not rouse from their slumber, the championship game will be a game the Americans curse forever.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 16, 2026
So while precious and base metals continue to rally to fresh highs, steelmaking coal is now stirring from its slumber, the analyst says.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 13, 2026
January is an odd month in the art world, as it rouses itself from its holiday slumber but struggles to shake off the sleepiness of the past month.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
It was just a creepy story, the kind you told while you were roasting marshmallows or huddled together at a slumber party.
From "I Survived the Eruption of Mount St. Helens, 1980" by Lauren Tarshis
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.
