Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Sleep

Sleep

,
obs.
imp.
of Sleep. Slept.
Chaucer.

Sleep

,
Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Slept
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Sleeping
.]
[OE.
slepen
, AS.
sl[GREEK]pan
; akin to OFries.
sl[GREEK]pa
, OS.
slāpan
, D.
slapen
, OHG.
slāfan
, G.
schlafen
, Goth.
sl[GREEK]pan
, and G.
schlaff
slack, loose, and L.
labi
to glide, slide,
labare
to totter. Cf.
Lapse
.]
1.
To take rest by a suspension of the voluntary exercise of the powers of the body and mind, and an apathy of the organs of sense; to slumber.
Chaucer.
Watching at the head of these that
sleep
.
Milton.
2.
Figuratively:
(a)
To be careless, inattentive, or uncouncerned; not to be vigilant; to live thoughtlessly.
We
sleep
over our happiness.
Atterbury.
(b)
To be dead; to lie in the grave.
Them also which
sleep
in Jesus will God bring with him.
1 Thess. iv. 14.
(c)
To be, or appear to be, in repose; to be quiet; to be unemployed, unused, or unagitated; to rest; to lie dormant;
as, a question
sleeps
for the present; the law
sleeps
.
How sweet the moonlight
sleep
upon this bank!
Shakespeare

Sleep

,
Verb.
T.
1.
To be slumbering in; – followed by a cognate object;
as, to
sleep
a dreamless sleep
.
Tennyson.
2.
To give sleep to; to furnish with accomodations for sleeping; to lodge.
[R.]
Blackw. Mag.
To sleep away
,
to spend in sleep;
as,
to sleep away
precious time
.
–
To sleep off
,
to become free from by sleep;
as,
to sleep off
drunkeness or fatigue
.

Sleep

,
Noun.
[AS.
slǣp
; akin to OFries.
slēp
, OS.
slāp
, D.
slaap
, OHG.
slāf
, G.
schlaf
, Goth.
slēps
. See
Sleep
,
Verb.
I.
]
A natural and healthy, but temporary and periodical, suspension of the functions of the organs of sense, as well as of those of the voluntary and rational soul; that state of the animal in which there is a lessened acuteness of sensory perception, a confusion of ideas, and a loss of mental control, followed by a more or less unconscious state.
“A man that waketh of his sleep.”
Chaucer.
O
sleep
, thou ape of death.
Shakespeare
☞ Sleep is attended by a relaxation of the muscles, and the absence of voluntary activity for any rational objects or purpose. The pulse is slower, the respiratory movements fewer in number but more profound, and there is less blood in the cerebral vessels. It is susceptible of greater or less intensity or completeness in its control of the powers.
Sleep of plants
(Bot.)
,
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.
Syn. – Slumber; repose; rest; nap; doze; drowse.

Webster 1828 Edition

Sleep

SLEEP

,
Verb.
I.
pret. and pp. slept.
1.
To take rest by a suspension of the voluntary exercise of the powers of the body and mind. The proper time to sleep in during the darkness of night.
2.
To rest; to be unemployed; to be inactive or motionless; as, the sword sleeps in its sheath.
3.
To rest; to lie or be still; not to be noticed or agitated. The question sleeps for the present.
4.
To live thoughtlessly. We sleep over our happiness.
5.
To be dead; to rest in the grave for a time. I Thess. 4.
6.
To be careless, inattentive or unconcerned; not be vigilant.

SLEEP

,
Noun.
That state of an animal in which the voluntary exertion of his mental and corporeal powers is suspended, and he rests unconscious of what passes around him, and not affected by the ordinary impressions of external objects. Sleep is generally attended with a relaxation of the muscles, but the involuntary motions, as respiration and the circulation of the blood, are continued. The mind is often very active in sleep; but its powers not being under the control of reason, its exercises are very irregular. Sleep is the natural rest or repose intended by the Creator to restore the powers of the body and mind, when exhausted or fatigued.

Definition 2024

sleep

sleep

English

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.
  2. (intransitive) (Of a spinning top or a 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 up to four people.
  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. To be careless, inattentive, or unconcerned; not to be vigilant; to live thoughtlessly.
    • Atterbury
      We sleep over our happiness.
  7. To be dead; to lie in the grave.
    • Bible, 1 Thessalonians iv. 14
      Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
  8. 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
    • Shakespeare
      How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this bank!
  9. (computing) 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.‎
Derived terms
Troponyms
Translations
See also

Category:Sleep

Etymology 2

From Middle English 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. (uncountable) Rheum found in the corner of the eyes after waking, whether real or a figurative objectification of sleep (in the sense of reduced consciousness).
    Wipe the sleep from your eyes.
  4. 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.
    • 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 […]
Synonyms
Derived terms
Translations

References

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: ago · easily · condition · #686: sleep · ex · mere · agreement

Anagrams

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /sleːp/

Etymology 1

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

Non-lemma forms.

Verb

sleep

  1. singular past indicative of slijpen

Verb

sleep

  1. first-person singular present indicative of slepen
  2. imperative of slepen

Anagrams

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old English slǣp.

Noun

sleep (plural sleeps)

  1. sleep

Related terms

Descendants

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Similar Results