sleeping
Americannoun
adjective
-
of, relating to, or having accommodations for sleeping.
a sleeping compartment.
-
used to sleep in or on.
a sleeping jacket.
-
used to induce or aid sleep or while asleep.
sleeping mask.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sleeping
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at sleep, -ing 1, -ing 2
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.
After a brief stay in council emergency accommodation, she said they spent a year sleeping on the sofas and floors of people she had met in Margate.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
It tore nightclothes from people who had been sleeping moments before.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Other migrants took to sleeping on the streets of residential areas away from the centre of Ceuta as the territory's reception facilities struggled to cope.
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
Existing drugs manage patients’ symptoms—notably excessive daytime sleepiness and difficulty sleeping at night—rather than the cause.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Gran was still sleeping, so I took some dry bread and a little goat cheese and walked outside.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
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.
