sleep

SaySLEEP/slip//sliːp/

Verbsleeps, sleeping, slept

Noun pluralsleeps (some meanings)

15 meanings of sleep

Practice

1
slumberverbintransitive
To rest with your eyes closed and your mind at rest, as you do at night.
Like switching off for the night so your body can rest.
I sleep about eight hours every night.
The baby is sleeping in the next room.
UsageThe past form is slept. You fall asleep at night.
Similarslumber, rest, snooze, doze
Oppositewake
2
noununcountable
The rest your body and mind get each night when your eyes are closed and you are not awake.
Like plugging in a phone overnight so it works again the next day.
Good sleep helps you feel better the next day.
She didn't get enough sleep before the long trip.
UsageSay get some sleep or not enough sleep.
Similarrest
Oppositewakefulness, waking
3
have sexverbeuphemisticidiomaticintransitive
A polite way of saying to have sex with someone.
She didn't want to sleep with someone she had just met.
They had been sleeping together for months before telling anyone.
UsageSay sleep with someone or sleep together.
4
have beds forverbtransitive
To have enough beds for a certain number of people to stay the night.
Like a hotel room that has space for a set number of guests.
This cabin can sleep six people.
The small tent sleeps four comfortably.
UsageSay a house sleeps six.
Similaraccommodate, house, hold
5
power downverbtransitive
To go, or make a computer or phone go, into a low-power resting mode.
Like turning a TV to standby instead of switching it off fully.
You can sleep the laptop to save battery.
You can sleep your laptop by simply closing the lid.
UsageYou can also say put the computer to sleep.
Similarsuspend, hibernate
Oppositewake
Note

Less common meanings

6
eye crustnoununcountable
The dry, crusty bits that gather in the corners of your eyes while you sleep.
Like crumbs left behind in the corner of your eye overnight.
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes and yawned.
There was sleep crusted in the corners of his eyes.
UsageSay you wipe the sleep from your eyes.
Similargunk, crust
Note
7
verbintransitive
To wait until the next day to decide something, so you have time to think about it. Used with on.
It's a big choice, so let me sleep on it.
He slept on the job offer and said yes in the morning.
UsageSay let me sleep on it when you need time.
8
lie dormantverbintransitive
To lie still and quiet, as if at rest, without being active.
Like a toy left in a box, still and unused for a long time.
The old factory sleeps now, its machines silent for years.
Through the cold months, fields and gardens sleep beneath the snow.
Similarlie, rest, slumber
Note
9
be deadverbeuphemisticidiomaticintransitive
To be dead and at rest, said in a soft and gentle way.
Her grandfather sleeps now in the old churchyard.
Those who fell in the war sleep beneath rows of white stones.
Similarrest, lie
Note
10
not alertverbidiomaticintransitive
To fail to pay attention or stay alert when you should.
Like a watchman dozing off while the gate stays open.
The company slept while its rivals made better phones.
Investors who sleep through warning signs often lose money.
Similardoze, slumber
Note
11
a nightnouncolloquialmetonymicallycountable or uncountable
A night, counted as the time until something happens.
Like crossing off one more day on a calendar before a big event.
Just one more sleep until we leave for vacation.
The kids kept asking how many sleeps were left until the trip.
UsageSay three more sleeps until a big day.
Similarnight
12
hibernationnouncountable or uncountable
The deep winter rest that some animals fall into to survive the cold.
Like an animal switching itself off through the coldest months to save energy.
Bears enter a long sleep that lasts through the winter.
The frog's winter sleep slows its heartbeat almost to nothing.
Similarhibernation, dormancy, torpor
13
verb
To pause for a set amount of time without doing anything.
14
verb
Of a spinning top or yo-yo, to spin in one place so smoothly it seems still, or to make it do this.
15
noun
The way some plants fold their leaves and close their flowers at night.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of sleep apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1, 3–5, 7–10

From Old English slēpan, going back through older Germanic words meaning "to sleep."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The verb sleep derives from Old English slēpan. en.wiktionary.org
Its earlier Germanic ancestors meant to sleep. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 2, 6, 11–12

From Old English slǣp, "sleep," going back through older Germanic words meaning "sleep."

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

The noun sleep derives from Old English slǣp, meaning sleep. en.wiktionary.org
The Old English word descends from earlier Germanic forms meaning sleep. en.wiktionary.org