sleep

/sliːp/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

British[slɪjp]

sleep verb: to rest in a state of reduced consciousness.

Image: Basile Morin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Verb

sleep (third-person singular simple present sleeps, present participle sleeping, simple past and past participle slept)

(intransitive) To rest in a state of reduced consciousness.
- You should sleep eight hours a day.
- We sleep in the bedroom.2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
(euphemistic, idiomatic) To have sexual intercourse (see sleep with).
- Last night we slept together for the first time.
(transitive) To accommodate in beds.
- This caravan can sleep four people comfortably.
- Huge red tents erected around our small yellow one. Huge red tents that could sleep 8 and instead sleep 2. Lawn furniture is scattered about, duffle bags arrive, the clatter of pots and pans.1982 February 13, Lee Swislow, “Amazon Trekking”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 29, page 9
(idiomatic, intransitive) To be careless, inattentive, or unconcerned; not to be vigilant; to live thoughtlessly.
- We ſleep over our Happineſs, Great as it is, and want to be rous'd into a quick and thankful ſenſe of it, either by an actual Change of Circumſtances, or by a Compariſon of our Own caſe with that of other Men.1706 October 8 (date delivered; Gregorian calendar), Francis Atterbury, “A Sermon Preach’d in the Guild-Hall Chapel, London, Sept. 28. 1706. Being the Day of the Election of the Right Honourable the...
- Huge red tents erected around our small yellow one. Huge red tents that could sleep 8 and instead sleep 2. Lawn furniture is scattered about, duffle bags arrive, the clatter of pots and pans.1982 February 13, Lee Swislow, “Amazon Trekking”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 29, page 9
(euphemistic, idiomatic, intransitive) To be dead.
- For if we beleeue that Ieſus died, and roſe againe: euen ſo them alſo which ſleepe in Ieſus, will God bring with him.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Thessalonians 4:14, column 2
- It was that of a man in advanced life, with a long grizzled beard, and also robed in white, probably the husband of the lady, who, after surviving her many years, came at the last to sleep once more for good and all beside her.1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC
(intransitive) To be, or appear to be, in repose; to be quiet; to be unemployed, unused, or unagitated; to rest; to lie dormant.
- a question sleeps for the present; the law sleeps
- How ſweet the moone-light ſleepes vpon this banke,[…]c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
(intransitive) To wait for a period of time without performing any action.
- After a failed connection attempt, the program sleeps for 5 seconds before trying again.
(transitive) To place into a state of hibernation.
- Even when you have reasons not to sleep the computer, it's still a good idea to sleep the display after a period of time.2009, Mike Lee, Scott Meyers, Learn Mac OS X Snow Leopard, page 91
(intransitive, dynamics) To spin on its axis with no other perceptible motion.
- When a top is sleeping, it is spinning without precessing.
- A top sleeps when it moves with such velocity, and spins so smoothly, that its motion is imperceptible.1854, Anne E. Baker, Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases
(transitive, dynamics) To cause (a spinning top or yo-yo) to spin on its axis with no other perceptible motion.
- Yo-yo tricks involving sleeping the yo-yo (like "walking the dog" and "rocking the baby") cannot be performed in space.1995, All Aboard for Space: Introducing Space to Youngsters, page 158
(slang, transitive) To knock (someone) out (as, in a fight).

Noun

sleep (countable and uncountable, plural sleeps)

(uncountable) The state of reduced consciousness during which a human or animal rests in a daily rhythm.
- I really need some sleep.
- We need to conduct an overnight sleep test to diagnose your sleep problem.
(countable, informal) An act or instance of sleeping.
- I’m just going to have a quick sleep.
- a sound night’s sleep
(informal, metonymically) A night.
- There are only three sleeps till Christmas!
(uncountable) Rheum, crusty or gummy discharge found in the corner of the eyes after waking, whether real or a figurative objectification of sleep (in the sense of reduced consciousness).
- When she had rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and wept till she was tired, she set out on her way and walked for many, many a day, till she at last came to a big mountain.1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 233
- But it rings
  And we rise,
  Wipe the sleep out of our eyes[…]1980, “Daydream Believer”performed by Anne Murray
A state of plants, usually at night, when their leaflets approach each other and the flowers close and droop, or are covered by the folded leaves.
- The daily sleep of plants, and their winter sleep, present in this respect exactly similar phenomena[…]1843, Joh Müller, John Bell, Elements of Physiology, page 808
Synonyms:

nyctinasty, nyctitropism
The hibernation of animals.

Proper noun capitalized: Sleep

Sleep (plural Sleeps)

A surname from English.

sleep meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

sleep in Hindi

to rest in state of reduced consciousness: सोना sonā
state of reduced consciousness: नींद nīnd, निद्रा nidrā

sleep in Tamil

to rest in state of reduced consciousness: தூங்கு tūṅku, உறங்கு uṟaṅku
to accommodate: இடமளி iṭamaḷi, உறக்கு uṟakku, உறங்கவை uṟaṅkavai, தூங்கவை tūṅkavai
state of reduced consciousness: உறக்கம் uṟakkam, தூக்கம் tūkkam
informal: act or instance of sleeping — see also sleeping: தூக்கம் tūkkam

sleep in Marathi

to rest in state of reduced consciousness: झोपणे jhopṇe, निजणे nijṇe
state of reduced consciousness: नीद nīd, झोप jhop
informal: act or instance of sleeping — see also sleeping: झोप jhop

sleep in Urdu

to rest in state of reduced consciousness: سونا sonā
state of reduced consciousness: نِینْد nīnd, خْوَاب xvāb
informal: act or instance of sleeping — see also sleeping: سوتا sotā

More languagesFewer languages

sleep in Bengali: শোয়া śōẇa, ঘুমানো ghumanō, ঘুম ghum, পিঁচুটি pĩcuṭi
sleep in Telugu: నిద్రించు nidriñcu, కునుకుట kunukuṭa, నిద్ర nidra, కునుకు kunuku
sleep in Malayalam: ഉറങ്ങുക uṟaṅṅuka, ഉറക്കം uṟakkaṁ, ഉറക്കുക uṟakkuka
sleep in Kannada: ನಿದ್ದೆ nidde, ನಿದ್ರೆ nidre, ಒರಕು oraku, ಒರಗು oragu
sleep in Punjabi: ਸੌਣਾ sauṇā
sleep in Gujarati: ઊંઘવું ū̃ghavũ, ઊંઘ ū̃gha, નીંદર nī̃dar, ચીપડો cīpḍo
sleep in Odia: ନିଦ୍ରାଯିବା nidrājibā
sleep in Sanskrit: स्वपिति svapiti, सस्ति sasti, निद्राति nidrāti, द्रायति drāyati
sleep in Sinhala: නිදියනවා nidiyanawā, බුදියනවා budiyanawā, නින්ද ninda
sleep in Assamese: শো xü, টোপনি tüponi
sleep in Nepali: सुत्नु sutnu
sleep in Pashto: اوده کېدل udǝ́ kedǝ́l, خوب کول xob kawǝ́l, خوب xob
sleep in Tagalog: matulog, tulog, muta
sleep in Arabic: نَامَ nāma, رَقَدَ raqada, نام nām, رقد ragad
sleep in Malay: tidur, tahi mata
sleep in Indonesian: tidur, tahi mata, belek
sleep in Persian: خوابیدَن xâbidan, خُفْتَن xoftan, خْوَاب xwāb, خوَاب xāb
sleep in Thai: นอน nɔɔn, หลับ làp, นิทรา nít-traa, ขี้ตา kîi-dtaa
sleep in Vietnamese: ngủ, ngủ gục, giấc ngủ, sự ngũ
sleep in Myanmar: အိပ် ip
Kashmiri: نِندٕر nindụr, شۄنٛگُن śọngun, نؠثٕر nyasụr

Examples of sleep in a sentence

Now draw the lacrimal caruncle at the medial corner of the eye, which produces whitish, oily fluid—it produces “sleep in the eye.”2017, Adam J. Fisch, Neuroanatomy: Draw It to Know It, Oxford University Press, →ISBN:
The part of the eyelid that is the location of the lacrimal caruncle, which produces rheum or "sleep," the gritty substance often present when awakening.2019, Jahangir Moini, Anatomy and Physiology for Health Professionals, Jones & Bartlett Learning, page 780, entry "Medial canthus"

All 40 example sentences with sleep

Synonyms of sleep

17 more synonymsFewer synonyms

snooze
bed booger(s)
crusty
eye booger(s)
eye bogie(s)
eye crust
eye goop
eye gunk
eye sand
eye snot
gound
sleeper
sleepies
sleepy
sleepy booger(s)
sleepy dust
sleepy sand

All synonyms of sleep

Forms of sleep

Verb
third-person singular present	sleeps
present participle	sleeping
past participle	slept
past	slept
second-person singular present (archaic)	sleepest
second-person singular past (archaic)	sleptst
second-person singular past (archaic)	sleptest
third-person singular present (archaic)	sleepeth
alternative form (obsolete)	sleepe
Noun
plural	sleeps
Proper noun
plural	Sleeps

Past tense of sleep: slept

Plural of sleep: sleeps

Origin of sleep

From Middle English slepen, from Anglian Old English slēpan (West Saxon Old English slǣpan), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpan, from Proto-Germanic *slēpaną (“to sleep”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian sleepe, sliap, sliip, släipe (“to sleep”), Saterland Frisian släipe (“to sleep”), West Frisian sliepe (“to sleep”), Alemannic German schlaaffe, schlaafä, schlafe, schloafe, schloafen, schlofe, schlàfu (“to sleep”), Bavarian schlofn, schlåfn, sghlofn (“to sleep”), Central Franconian schlofe (“to sleep”), Cimbrian slaafan, slafan, slavan (“to sleep”), Dutch and Low German slapen (“to sleep”), German schlafen (“to sleep”), Limburgish schloëpe, slaope (“to sleep”), Luxembourgish schlofen (“to sleep”), Mòcheno schloven (“to sleep”), Vilamovian šłȫfa, śłöfa (“to sleep”), Yiddish שלאָפֿן (shlofn, “to sleep”), Crimean Gothic schlipen (“to sleep”), Gothic 𐍃𐌻𐌴𐍀𐌰𐌽 (slēpan, “to sleep”).

From Middle English slepe, sleep, sleepe, from Old English slǣp (“sleep”), from Proto-West Germanic *slāp, from Proto-Germanic *slēpaz (“sleep”). Cognates Cognate with Yola slepe (“sleep”), Saterland Frisian Släip (“sleep”), West Frisian sliep (“sleep”), Dutch slaap (“sleep”), German Schlaf (“sleep”), Luxembourgish Schlof (“sleep”), Vilamovian šłȫf, śłöf (“sleep”), Yiddish שלאָף (shlof, “sleep”), Gothic 𐍃𐌻𐌴𐍀𐍃 (slēps, “sleep”).

Words formed from sleep

Phrases with sleep

90 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with sleep

30 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about sleep

What does sleep mean?: Sleep means to rest in a state of reduced consciousness.
What is sleep in Hindi?: Sleep in Hindi is सोना (sonā), नींद (nīnd), निद्रा (nidrā). See Sleep meaning in Hindi.
How do you use sleep in a sentence?: Now draw the lacrimal caruncle at the medial corner of the eye, which produces whitish, oily fluid—it produces “sleep in the eye.”
What part of speech is sleep?: Sleep can be a verb, a noun or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce sleep?: Sleep is pronounced /sliːp/.
What is the past tense of sleep?: The past tense of sleep is slept.

Words near sleep in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: sleep (page history and authors); Sleep (page history and authors); ಒರಕು (Kannada) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-sleep.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sleep.wav.

Cite this entry: “sleep.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sleep. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.