sleep

English

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: slēp, IPA^(key): /sliːp/

• Audio (RP; “to sleep”)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /slip/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːp

Etymology 1

From Middle English slepen, from Old English slǣpan, from Proto-West Germanic *slāpan, from Proto-Germanic *slēpaną.

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) To rest in a state of reduced consciousness.

   You should sleep 8 hours a day.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     We sleep in the bedroom.

     Audio (US)

     (file)

2. (intransitive, of a spinning top or yo-yo) To spin on its axis with no other perceptible motion.
   • 1854, Anne E. Baker, Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases:

     A top sleeps when it moves with such velocity, and spins so smoothly, that its motion is imperceptible.

   When a top is sleeping, it is spinning but not precessing.

3. (transitive) To cause (a spinning top or yo-yo) to spin on its axis with no other perceptible motion.
   • 1995, All Aboard for Space: Introducing Space to Youngsters (page 158)

     Yo-yo tricks involving sleeping the yo-yo (like "walking the dog" and "rocking the baby") cannot be performed in space.

4. (transitive) To accommodate in beds.

   This caravan can sleep four people comfortably.

5. (transitive) To be slumbering in (a state).

   to sleep a dreamless sleep

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Tennyson to this entry?)

6. (intransitive) To be careless, inattentive, or unconcerned; not to be vigilant; to live thoughtlessly.
   • 1734, Francis Atterbury, edited by Thomas Moore, Sermons on Several Occasions. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] George James […]; and sold by C. Davis, […], →OCLC:

     We sleep over our happiness.

7. (intransitive) To be dead; to lie in the grave.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Thessalonians 4:14:

     Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

8. (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

   • 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] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

     How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!

9. (computing, 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.

10. (computing, transitive) To place into a state of hibernation.
    • 2009, Mike Lee, Scott Meyers, Learn Mac OS X Snow Leopard (page 91)

      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.

11. (Discuss⁽⁺⁾ this sense) (transitive) This term needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

    Sleep your way to good health.

    He hoped to sleep his troubles away.

Troponyms

• (rest in a state of reduced consciousness): nap, doze, snooze

Derived terms

• besleep
• forsleep
• how can you sleep at night
• outsleep
• oversleep
• sleep around
• sleep-at-noon
• sleep in
• sleeping bag
• Sleeping Beauty
• sleeping pill
• sleep like a baby
• sleep like a log
• sleep off
• sleep on
• sleep out
• sleep over
• sleep rough
• sleep together
• sleepwalk
• sleep with
• sleep with the fishes
• undersleep

 

Translations

to rest in state of reduced consciousness

Translations

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

See also

Category:Sleep

• catnap
• rest
• shuteye
• sleeping

• slumber
• snooze
• zzz

Etymology 2

From Middle English slepe, sleep, sleepe, from Old English slǣp (“sleep”), from Proto-Germanic *slēpaz (“sleep”).

Noun

sleep (countable and uncountable, plural sleeps)

1. (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.

2. (countable, informal) An act or instance of sleeping.

   I’m just going to have a quick sleep.

3. (informal, metonymically) A night.

   There are only three sleeps till Christmas!

4. (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).

   Synonyms: (informal) sleepy, (informal) sleeper, (informal) sleepy dust, (slang) crusty, (UK dialectal) gound

   Wipe the sleep from your eyes.

   • 2017, Adam J. Fisch, Neuroanatomy: Draw It to Know It, Oxford University Press (→ISBN):

     [...] and draw the medial canthus (aka medial commissure) at the medial extreme. Now draw the lacrimal caruncle at the medial corner of the eye, which produces whitish, oily fluid—it produces “sleep in the eye.”

   • 2019, Jahangir Moini, Anatomy and Physiology for Health Professionals, Jones & Bartlett Learning (→ISBN), page 780, entry "Medial canthus":

     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.

5. 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.

   Synonyms: nyctinasty, nyctitropism

   • 1843, Joh Müller, John Bell, Elements of Physiology, page 808:

     The daily sleep of plants, and their winter sleep, present in this respect exactly similar phenomena […]

6. The hibernation of animals.

Synonyms

• see also Thesaurus:sleep
• (mucus in the eyes): sleepies, bed booger(s), eye bogey(s), eye bogie(s), eye booger(s), eye crust, eye goop(s), eye gunk(s), eye sand, eye-snot, eye snot, sleepy booger(s)

Derived terms

• asleep
• beauty sleep
• big sleep
• biphasic sleep
• dead sleep
• deep sleep
• divided sleep
• dog sleep
• electrosleep
• go to sleep
• morning sleep
• orthodox sleep
• polyphasic sleep
• put to sleep
• REM sleep
• segmented sleep
• sleep apnea
• sleep-charged
• sleep debt
• sleep deprivation
• sleep disorder
• sleepful
• sleep-learning
• sleepless
• sleep mask
• sleep mode
• sleep of the just
• sleepover
• sleep paralysis
• sleep schedule
• sleep spindle
• sleeptalk
• sleepy

 

Translations

state of reduced consciousness

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• Afrikaans: ⦃⦃t+¦af¦slaap¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Albanian: ⦃⦃t+¦sq¦gjumë¦?¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Arabic: ⦃⦃t+¦ar¦نَوْم¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦ar¦سِنَة¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄

  Egyptian Arabic: ⦃⦃t¦arz¦نوم¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Arab¦tr=nōm⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦arz¦نومة¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Arab¦tr=nōma⦄⦄

  Moroccan Arabic: ⦃⦃t¦ary¦نعاس¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=nʕās⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦ary¦رقاد¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=rqād⦄⦄

• Aramaic:

  Hebrew: ⦃⦃t¦arc¦שנתא¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hebr¦tr=šintā’⦄⦄

  Syriac: ⦃⦃t¦syc¦ܫܢܬܐ¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Syrc¦tr=šintā⦄⦄

• Armenian: ⦃⦃t+¦hy¦քուն¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Aromanian: ⦃⦃t¦rup¦somnu¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Asturian: ⦃⦃t¦ast¦sueñu¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Azerbaijani: ⦃⦃t+¦az¦yuxu¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Baluchi: ⦃⦃t¦bal¦واب¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=wáb⦄⦄
• Basque: ⦃⦃t¦eu¦lo¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Belarusian: ⦃⦃t¦be¦сон¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Breton: ⦃⦃t+¦br¦hun¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦br¦kousk¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Bulgarian: ⦃⦃t+¦bg¦сън¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Catalan: ⦃⦃t+¦ca¦son¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Chichewa: ⦃⦃t¦ny¦tulo¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: ⦃⦃t¦yue¦睏¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦yue¦困¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦yue¦瞓¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani¦tr=fan3⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦yue¦睡眠¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani¦tr=seoi6 min4⦄⦄

  Hakka: ⦃⦃t¦hak¦睡眠¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani¦tr=soi-mìn⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦hak¦睡目¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani¦tr=soi-muk⦄⦄

  Mandarin: ⦃⦃t+¦cmn¦睡覺¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦cmn¦睡觉¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani¦tr=shuìjiào⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦cmn¦睡眠¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani¦tr=shuìmián⦄⦄

  Min Nan: ⦃⦃t+¦nan¦睏¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦nan¦困¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani¦tr=khùn⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦nan¦睏眠¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦nan¦困眠¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Hani¦tr=khùn-bîn⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦nan¦睡眠¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=sūi-bîn⦄⦄

• Cornish: ⦃⦃t¦kw¦kosk¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Crimean Tatar: ⦃⦃t¦crh¦yuqu¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Czech: ⦃⦃t+¦cs¦spánek¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Dalmatian: ⦃⦃t¦dlm¦samno¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Danish: ⦃⦃t+¦da¦søvn¦c¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Dutch: ⦃⦃t+¦nl¦slaap¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Egyptian: (qdd m)
• Elfdalian: ⦃⦃t¦ovd¦swemmen¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Esperanto: ⦃⦃t¦eo¦dormo¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Estonian: ⦃⦃t+¦et¦uni¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Faroese: ⦃⦃t¦fo¦svøvnur¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Finnish: ⦃⦃t+¦fi¦uni¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• French: ⦃⦃t+¦fr¦sommeil¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Friulian: ⦃⦃t¦fur¦sium¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Georgian: ⦃⦃t¦ka¦ძილი¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Geor⦄⦄
• German: ⦃⦃t+¦de¦Schlaf¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Gothic: ⦃⦃t¦got¦𐍃𐌻𐌴𐍀𐍃¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Greek: ⦃⦃t+¦el¦ύπνος¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄

  Ancient: ⦃⦃t¦grc¦ὕπνος¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄

• Haitian Creole: ⦃⦃t¦ht¦dòmi¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦ht¦sòmey¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Hawaiian: ⦃⦃t¦haw¦hiamoe¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Hebrew: ⦃⦃t+¦he¦שינה¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=sheiná⦄⦄
• Hindi: ⦃⦃t+¦hi¦नींद¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦hi¦निद्रा¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Hungarian: ⦃⦃t+¦hu¦alvás¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Icelandic: ⦃⦃t+¦is¦svefn¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Ido: ⦃⦃t+¦io¦dormo¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Ilocano: ⦃⦃t¦ilo¦turog¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Indonesian: ⦃⦃t+¦id¦tidur¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Interlingua: ⦃⦃t¦ia¦somno¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Irish: ⦃⦃t¦ga¦suan¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦ga¦codladh¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Italian: ⦃⦃t+¦it¦sonno¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Japanese: ⦃⦃t+¦ja¦眠り¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=ねむり, nemuri⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦ja¦睡眠¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=すいみん, suimin⦄⦄
• Kazakh: ⦃⦃t¦kk¦ұйқы¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Khmer: ⦃⦃t¦km¦ដំណើរដេកលក់¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Khmr¦tr=dɑmnaə deɛk lʊək⦄⦄
• Korean: ⦃⦃t+¦ko¦잠¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ⦃⦃t+¦ckb¦خەو¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄

  Laki: ⦃⦃t+¦lki¦خاو¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄

  Northern Kurdish: ⦃⦃t+¦kmr¦xew¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄

  Southern Kurdish: ⦃⦃t+¦sdh¦خەو¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kyrgyz: ⦃⦃t+¦ky¦уйк󦦦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Lao: ⦃⦃t¦lo¦ໄສຍາດ¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Latgalian: ⦃⦃t¦ltg¦mīgs¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Latin: ⦃⦃t¦la¦somnus¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦la¦sopor¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄ (deep slumber)
• Latvian: ⦃⦃t¦lv¦miegs¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Lithuanian: ⦃⦃t¦lt¦miegas¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Low German: ⦃⦃t¦nds¦Slaap¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Macedonian: ⦃⦃t¦mk¦сон¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Malay: ⦃⦃t+¦ms¦tidur¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Maltese: ⦃⦃t¦mt¦irqad¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Maori: ⦃⦃t+¦mi¦moe¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Marathi: ⦃⦃t¦mr¦नीद¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦mr¦झोप¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Mazanderani: ⦃⦃t¦mzn¦خو¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=xu⦄⦄
• Middle Persian: ⦃⦃t¦pal¦𐭧𐭥𐭠𐭡¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Phli¦tr=xwāb⦄⦄
• Mongolian: ⦃⦃t+¦mn¦ной𦦦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Cyrl⦄⦄
• Nahuatl: ⦃⦃t¦nah¦cochina¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Neapolitan: ⦃⦃t¦nap¦suonno¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• North Frisian: (Föhr-Amrum dialect) ⦃⦃t¦frr¦sliap¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Norwegian: ⦃⦃t+¦no¦søvn¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Occitan: ⦃⦃t+¦oc¦sòm¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: ⦃⦃t¦cu¦сънъ¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄

• Old East Slavic: ⦃⦃t¦orv¦сънъ¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Old English: ⦃⦃t¦ang¦slǣp¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Old Norse: ⦃⦃t¦non¦svefn¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Old Turkic: ⦃⦃t¦otk¦𐰆¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=u⦄⦄
• Persian: ⦃⦃t+¦fa¦خواب¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=fa-Arab¦tr=xvâb, xâb⦄⦄
• Plautdietsch: ⦃⦃t+¦pdt¦Schlop¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Polish: ⦃⦃t+¦pl¦sen¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Portuguese: ⦃⦃t+¦pt¦sono¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Romanian: ⦃⦃t+¦ro¦somn¦n¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Romansch: ⦃⦃t¦rm¦sien¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦rm¦sön¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Russian: ⦃⦃t+¦ru¦сон¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Sanskrit: ⦃⦃t+¦sa¦निद्रा¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦sa¦स्वप¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦sa¦स्वाप¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Sardinian: ⦃⦃t¦sc¦sonnu¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Scottish Gaelic: ⦃⦃t¦gd¦cadal¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Serbo-Croatian: ⦃⦃t+¦sh¦san¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦sh¦сан¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Sicilian: ⦃⦃t+¦scn¦sonnu¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Slovak: ⦃⦃t¦sk¦spánok¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Slovene: ⦃⦃t¦sl¦spanec¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Sotho: ⦃⦃t+¦st¦robala¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Spanish: ⦃⦃t+¦es¦sueño¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Sudovian: ⦃⦃t¦xsv¦maigas¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Sumerian: ⦃⦃t¦sux¦𒅇¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=u₃¦ts=u⦄⦄
• Swahili: ⦃⦃t+¦sw¦usingizi¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Swedish: ⦃⦃t+¦sv¦sömn¦c¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Tagalog: ⦃⦃t¦tl¦tulog¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Tamil: ⦃⦃t+¦ta¦உறக்கம்¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Taml⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦ta¦தூக்கம்¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Telugu: ⦃⦃t+¦te¦నిద్ర¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Thai: ⦃⦃t+¦th¦นิทรา¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Tibetan: ⦃⦃t¦bo¦གཉིད¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Tibt⦄⦄
• Tocharian B: ⦃⦃t¦txb¦ṣpane¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Turkish: ⦃⦃t+¦tr¦uyku¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Turkmen: ⦃⦃t¦tk¦uky¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Tuvan: ⦃⦃t¦tyv¦уйг󦦦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Ukrainian: ⦃⦃t+¦uk¦сон¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Urdu: ⦃⦃t¦ur¦نیند¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=ur-Arab¦tr=nīnd⦄⦄
• Uzbek: ⦃⦃t+¦uz¦uyqu¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Venetian: ⦃⦃t¦vec¦sono¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Walloon: ⦃⦃t+¦wa¦soumey¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦wa¦doirmaedje¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t¦wa¦essoctaedje¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Welsh: ⦃⦃t+¦cy¦cwsg¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• West Frisian: ⦃⦃t¦fy¦sliep¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Yakut: ⦃⦃t¦sah¦у󦦦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦sc=Cyrl⦄⦄
• Yiddish: ⦃⦃t¦yi¦שלאָף¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄

informal: act or instance of sleeping

• Arabic: ⦃⦃t¦ar¦نَوْمَة¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Finnish: ⦃⦃t+¦fi¦uni¦p¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦alt=unet⦄⦄
• German: ⦃⦃t+¦de¦Schlaf¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦de¦Schläfchen¦n¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄, ⦃⦃t+¦de¦Nachtruhe¦f¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Gothic: ⦃⦃t¦got¦𐍃𐌻𐌴𐍀𐍃¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Greek: ⦃⦃t+¦el¦ύπνος¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Italian: ⦃⦃t+¦it¦sonno¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
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• Japanese: ⦃⦃t¦ja¦仮眠¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦tr=かみん, kamin⦄⦄
• Portuguese: ⦃⦃t+¦pt¦sono¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Romanian: ⦃⦃t+¦ro¦somn¦n¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Russian: ⦃⦃t+¦ru¦сон¦m¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄
• Swedish: ⦃⦃t+¦sv¦sovande¦n¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄ (the act), ⦃⦃t+¦sv¦sömn¦c¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄ (the instance), ⦃⦃t+¦sv¦tupplur¦c¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄ (brief instance)
• Telugu: ⦃⦃t+¦te¦కునుకు¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦¦⦄⦄

computing: to place into a state of hibernation

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: slēp, IPA^(key): /sliːp/

• Audio (RP; “to sleep”)

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /slip/

• Audio (GA)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iːp

Etymology 1

From Middle English slepen, from Old English slǣpan, from Proto-West Germanic *slāpan, from Proto-Germanic *slēpaną.

Verb

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

1. (intransitive) To rest in a state of reduced consciousness.

   You should sleep 8 hours a day.

   • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)

     We sleep in the bedroom.

     Audio (US)

     (file)

2. (intransitive, of a spinning top or yo-yo) To spin on its axis with no other perceptible motion.
   • 1854, Anne E. Baker, Glossary of Northamptonshire Words and Phrases:

     A top sleeps when it moves with such velocity, and spins so smoothly, that its motion is imperceptible.

   When a top is sleeping, it is spinning but not precessing.

3. (transitive) To cause (a spinning top or yo-yo) to spin on its axis with no other perceptible motion.
   • 1995, All Aboard for Space: Introducing Space to Youngsters (page 158)

     Yo-yo tricks involving sleeping the yo-yo (like "walking the dog" and "rocking the baby") cannot be performed in space.

4. (transitive) To accommodate in beds.

   This caravan can sleep four people comfortably.

5. (transitive) To be slumbering in (a state).

   to sleep a dreamless sleep

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Tennyson to this entry?)

6. (intransitive) To be careless, inattentive, or unconcerned; not to be vigilant; to live thoughtlessly.
   • 1734, Francis Atterbury, edited by Thomas Moore, Sermons on Several Occasions. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: […] George James […]; and sold by C. Davis, […], →OCLC:

     We sleep over our happiness.

7. (intransitive) To be dead; to lie in the grave.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Thessalonians 4:14:

     Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

8. (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

   • 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] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene i]:

     How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!

9. (computing, 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.

10. (computing, transitive) To place into a state of hibernation.
    • 2009, Mike Lee, Scott Meyers, Learn Mac OS X Snow Leopard (page 91)

      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.

11. (Discuss⁽⁺⁾ this sense) (transitive) This term needs a definition. Please help out and add a definition, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

    Sleep your way to good health.

    He hoped to sleep his troubles away.

Troponyms

• (rest in a state of reduced consciousness): nap, doze, snooze

Derived terms

• besleep
• forsleep
• how can you sleep at night
• outsleep
• oversleep
• sleep around
• sleep-at-noon
• sleep in
• sleeping bag
• Sleeping Beauty
• sleeping pill
• sleep like a baby
• sleep like a log
• sleep off
• sleep on
• sleep out
• sleep over
• sleep rough
• sleep together
• sleepwalk
• sleep with
• sleep with the fishes
• undersleep

 

Translations

to rest in state of reduced consciousness

Translations

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

See also

Category:Sleep

• catnap
• rest
• shuteye
• sleeping

• slumber
• snooze
• zzz

Etymology 2

From Middle English slepe, sleep, sleepe, from Old English slǣp (“sleep”), from Proto-Germanic *slēpaz (“sleep”).

Noun

sleep (countable and uncountable, plural sleeps)

1. (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.

2. (countable, informal) An act or instance of sleeping.

   I’m just going to have a quick sleep.

3. (informal, metonymically) A night.

   There are only three sleeps till Christmas!

4. (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).

   Synonyms: (informal) sleepy, (informal) sleeper, (informal) sleepy dust, (slang) crusty, (UK dialectal) gound

   Wipe the sleep from your eyes.

   • 2017, Adam J. Fisch, Neuroanatomy: Draw It to Know It, Oxford University Press (→ISBN):

     [...] and draw the medial canthus (aka medial commissure) at the medial extreme. Now draw the lacrimal caruncle at the medial corner of the eye, which produces whitish, oily fluid—it produces “sleep in the eye.”

   • 2019, Jahangir Moini, Anatomy and Physiology for Health Professionals, Jones & Bartlett Learning (→ISBN), page 780, entry "Medial canthus":

     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.

5. 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.

   Synonyms: nyctinasty, nyctitropism

   • 1843, Joh Müller, John Bell, Elements of Physiology, page 808:

     The daily sleep of plants, and their winter sleep, present in this respect exactly similar phenomena […]

6. The hibernation of animals.

Synonyms

• see also Thesaurus:sleep
• (mucus in the eyes): sleepies, bed booger(s), eye bogey(s), eye bogie(s), eye booger(s), eye crust, eye goop(s), eye gunk(s), eye sand, eye-snot, eye snot, sleepy booger(s)

Derived terms

• asleep
• beauty sleep
• big sleep
• biphasic sleep
• dead sleep
• deep sleep
• divided sleep
• dog sleep
• electrosleep
• go to sleep
• morning sleep
• orthodox sleep
• polyphasic sleep
• put to sleep
• REM sleep
• segmented sleep
• sleep apnea
• sleep-charged
• sleep debt
• sleep deprivation
• sleep disorder
• sleepful
• sleep-learning
• sleepless
• sleep mask
• sleep mode
• sleep of the just
• sleepover
• sleep paralysis
• sleep schedule
• sleep spindle
• sleeptalk
• sleepy

 

Translations

state of reduced consciousness

• Afrikaans: slaap (af)
• Albanian: gjumë (sq) ?
• Arabic: نَوْم (ar) m (nawm), سِنَة (ar) f (sina)

  Egyptian Arabic: نوم m (nōm), نومة f (nōma)

  Moroccan Arabic: نعاس (nʕās), رقاد (rqād)

• Aramaic:

  Hebrew: שנתא f (šintā’)

  Syriac: ܫܢܬܐ f (šintā)

• Armenian: քուն (hy) (kʻun)
• Aromanian: somnu
• Asturian: sueñu m
• Azerbaijani: yuxu (az)
• Baluchi: واب (wáb)
• Basque: lo
• Belarusian: сон m (son)
• Breton: hun (br) m, kousk (br) m
• Bulgarian: сън (bg) m (sǎn)
• Catalan: son (ca) m
• Chichewa: tulo
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 睏／困, 困, 瞓／𰥛 (fan³), 睡眠 (seoi⁶ min⁴)

  Hakka: 睡眠 (soi-mìn), 睡目 (soi-muk)

  Mandarin: 睡覺／睡觉 (zh), 睡觉 (zh) (shuìjiào), 睡眠 (zh) (shuìmián)

  Min Nan: 睏／困 (zh-min-nan), 困 (khùn), 睏眠／困眠 (zh-min-nan), 困眠 (khùn-bîn), 睡眠 (zh-min-nan) (sūi-bîn)

• Cornish: kosk m
• Crimean Tatar: yuqu
• Czech: spánek (cs) m
• Dalmatian: samno
• Danish: søvn (da) c
• Dutch: slaap (nl) m
• Egyptian: (qdd m)
• Elfdalian: swemmen m
• Esperanto: dormo
• Estonian: uni (et)
• Faroese: svøvnur m
• Finnish: uni (fi)
• French: sommeil (fr) m
• Friulian: sium m
• Georgian: ძილი (ʒili)
• German: Schlaf (de) m
• Gothic: 𐍃𐌻𐌴𐍀𐍃 m (slēps)
• Greek: ύπνος (el) m (ýpnos)

  Ancient: ὕπνος m (húpnos)

• Haitian Creole: dòmi, sòmey
• Hawaiian: hiamoe
• Hebrew: שינה (he) f (sheiná)
• Hindi: नींद (hi) f (nīnd), निद्रा (hi) f (nidrā)
• Hungarian: alvás (hu)
• Icelandic: svefn (is) m
• Ido: dormo (io)
• Ilocano: turog
• Indonesian: tidur (id)
• Interlingua: somno
• Irish: suan m, codladh m
• Italian: sonno (it) m
• Japanese: 眠り (ja) (ねむり, nemuri), 睡眠 (ja) (すいみん, suimin)
• Kazakh: ұйқы (ūiqy)
• Khmer: ដំណើរដេកលក់ (dɑmnaə deɛk lʊək)
• Korean: 잠 (ko) (jam)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: خەو (ckb) (xew)

  Laki: خاو (ku) (xaw)

  Northern Kurdish: xew (ku) f

  Southern Kurdish: خەو (ku) (xew)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Kyrgyz: уйку (ky) (uyku)
• Lao: ໄສຍາດ (sai nyāt)
• Latgalian: mīgs
• Latin: somnus m, sopor m (deep slumber)
• Latvian: miegs m
• Lithuanian: miegas m
• Low German: Slaap
• Macedonian: сон m (son)
• Malay: tidur (ms)
• Maltese: irqad
• Maori: moe (mi)
• Marathi: नीद f (nīd), झोप f (jhop)
• Mazanderani: خو (xu)
• Middle Persian: 𐭧𐭥𐭠𐭡 (xwāb)
• Mongolian: нойр (mn) (nojr)
• Nahuatl: cochina
• Neapolitan: suonno
• North Frisian: (Föhr-Amrum dialect) sliap m
• Norwegian: søvn (no) m
• Occitan: sòm (oc) m
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: сънъ m (sŭnŭ)

• Old East Slavic: сънъ m (sŭnŭ)
• Old English: slǣp
• Old Norse: svefn m
• Old Turkic: 𐰆 (u)
• Persian: خواب (fa) (xvâb, xâb)
• Plautdietsch: Schlop (nds) m
• Polish: sen (pl) m
• Portuguese: sono (pt) m
• Romanian: somn (ro) n
• Romansch: sien m, sön m
• Russian: сон (ru) m (son)
• Sanskrit: निद्रा (sa) f (nidrā), स्वप f (svapa), स्वाप (sa) f (svāpa)
• Sardinian: sonnu m
• Scottish Gaelic: cadal m
• Serbo-Croatian: san (sh) m, сан m
• Sicilian: sonnu (scn) m
• Slovak: spánok m
• Slovene: spanec m
• Sotho: robala (st)
• Spanish: sueño (es) m
• Sudovian: maigas
• Sumerian: 𒅇 (u₃ /⁠u⁠/)
• Swahili: usingizi (sw)
• Swedish: sömn (sv) c
• Tagalog: tulog
• Tamil: உறக்கம் (ta) (uṟakkam), தூக்கம் (ta) (tūkkam)
• Telugu: నిద్ర (te) (nidra)
• Thai: นิทรา (th) (nít-traa)
• Tibetan: གཉིད (gnyid)
• Tocharian B: ṣpane
• Turkish: uyku (tr)
• Turkmen: uky
• Tuvan: уйгу (uygu)
• Ukrainian: сон (uk) m (son)
• Urdu: نیند f (nīnd)
• Uzbek: uyqu (uz)
• Venetian: sono m
• Walloon: soumey (wa) m, doirmaedje (wa) m, essoctaedje m
• Welsh: cwsg (cy) m
• West Frisian: sliep
• Yakut: уу (uu)
• Yiddish: שלאָף m (shlof)

informal: act or instance of sleeping

• Arabic: نَوْمَة f (nawma)
• Finnish: unet (fi) pl
• German: Schlaf (de) m, Schläfchen (de) n, Nachtruhe (de) f
• Gothic: 𐍃𐌻𐌴𐍀𐍃 m (slēps)
• Greek: ύπνος (el) m (ýpnos)
• Italian: sonno (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 仮眠 (かみん, kamin)
• Portuguese: sono (pt) m
• Romanian: somn (ro) n
• Russian: сон (ru) m (son)
• Swedish: sovande (sv) n (the act), sömn (sv) c (the instance), tupplur (sv) c (brief instance)
• Telugu: కునుకు (te) (kunuku)

substance found in the corner of the eyes (gound), sometimes as a figurative objectification of sleep — see also substance found in the corner of the eyes (gound), sometimes as a figurative objectification of sleep

• Ancient Greek: λήμη f (lḗmē)
• Arabic: غَمَص (ḡamaṣ) (semiliquid), رَمَص (ramaṣ) (solid)

  Egyptian Arabic: عماص (ʿumāṣ, ʿemāṣ)

• Armenian: ճպուռ (hy) (čpuṙ)
• Asturian: llagaña (ast) f
• Bulgarian: гурла f (gurla)
• Catalan: lleganya f, llaganya f
• Cebuano: muta
• Cherokee: ᎦᎸᏗ (galvdi)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 眼屎 (ngaan⁵ si²)

  Hakka: 目屎 (muk-sṳ́)

  Mandarin: 眼屎 (zh) (yǎnshǐ), 眵 (zh) (chī)

  Min Nan: 目屎膏 (zh-min-nan) (ba̍k-sái-ko)

• Czech: ospalky pl
• Danish: søvn (da) c
• Dupaningan Agta: mitak
• Dutch: slaap (nl) m
• Esperanto: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: rähmä (fi), unihiekka (fi)
• French: chassie (fr) f
• Galician: carraña f, lagaña (gl) f, lepa (gl) f, remela f
• Georgian: წირპლი (c̣irṗli)
• German: Schlaf (de) m, Schlaf in den Augen m, Schlafsand m, Augenbutter (de) f, Augenschleim m, Matzel f (colloquial, regional), Groikerl (de) n (Austrian, dialectal), Schlafkörnchen n pl, Augenpopel m (colloquial)
• Greek: τσίμπλα (el) f (tsímpla)

  Ancient Greek: λήμη f (lḗmē)

• Gujarati: ચીપડો (cīpḍo), પીયો (pīyo)
• Hawaiian: maka piapia
• Hungarian: csipa (hu)
• Icelandic: stírur n pl
• Indonesian: please add this translation if you can
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Irish: sramaí m pl, brach m
• Italian: cispa (it) f
• Japanese: 目脂 (ja) (めやに, meyani), 目糞 (めくそ, mekuso), 目垢 (めあか, meaka)
• Korean: 눈곱 (nun'gop)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: ڕیپۆق (ckb) (rîpoq)

  Southern Kurdish: ڕیپِگ (ku) (rîpig)

• Latin: gramiae f pl
• Latvian: miegs m
• Malay: tahi mata
• Maori: pīkaru, pīkari
• Navajo: nákʼeeshchąąʼ
• Osage: įcólą
• Persian: ژفک (fa) (žafk)
• Portuguese: remela (pt) f, ramela (pt) f
• Romanian: urdoare (ro) f, puchină (ro) f
• Russian: сон (ru) m sg (son), глазная слизь (glaznaja slizʹ)
• Sicilian: ariddu (scn) m
• Slovak: karpiny f pl
• Spanish: legaña (es) f, lagaña (es) f, chele (es) m (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras), chelito m (colloquial, El Salvador)
• Swedish: morgongrus n, godmorgon (sv) n, gomorron (sv) n, sömn (sv) c
• Tagalog: muta (tl)
• Tamil: please add this translation if you can
• Telugu: నిద్ర మత్తు (nidra mattu)
• Thai: ขี้ตา (th) (khîi taa)
• Turkish: çapak (tr)
• Venetian: sgarbeła f
• Vietnamese: ghèn (vi)
• Welsh: môl m

References

• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “sleep”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN.

Anagrams

• LEEPs, Leeps, Lepes, peels, speel

---

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sleːp/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eːp

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

sleep m (plural slepen, diminutive sleepje n)

1. (the act of) dragging, towing
2. train, the part of wedding gown that drags behind the bride

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

sleep

1. (deprecated template usage) singular past indicative of slijpen

Verb

sleep

1. (deprecated template usage) first-person singular present indicative of slepen
2. (deprecated template usage) imperative of slepen

Anagrams

• slepe, speel, spele

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Middle English

Noun

sleep (uncountable)

1. Alternative form of slepe