Library / English Dictionary

SLEEP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: slept   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Euphemisms for death (based on an analogy between lying in a bed and in a tomb)

Example:

they had to put their family pet to sleep

Synonyms:

eternal rest; eternal sleep; quietus; rest; sleep

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("sleep" is a kind of...):

death (the absence of life or state of being dead)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended

Example:

calm as a child in dreamless slumber

Synonyms:

sleep; slumber

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("sleep" is a kind of...):

physical condition; physiological condition; physiological state (the condition or state of the body or bodily functions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sleep"):

sleeping (the state of being asleep)

nonrapid eye movement; nonrapid eye movement sleep; NREM; NREM sleep; orthodox sleep (a recurring sleep state during which rapid eye movements do not occur and dreaming does not occur; accounts for about 75% of normal sleep time)

paradoxical sleep; rapid eye movement; rapid eye movement sleep; REM; REM sleep (a recurring sleep state during which dreaming occurs; a state of rapidly shifting eye movements during sleep)

shut-eye; shuteye (informal term for sleep)

Derivation:

sleep (be asleep)

sleepy (ready to fall asleep)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A torpid state resembling deep sleep

Synonyms:

sleep; sopor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("sleep" is a kind of...):

physical condition; physiological condition; physiological state (the condition or state of the body or bodily functions)

Sense 4

Meaning:

A period of time spent sleeping

Example:

there wasn't time for a nap

Synonyms:

nap; sleep

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Hypernyms ("sleep" is a kind of...):

period; period of time; time period (an amount of time)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sleep"):

beauty sleep (sleep before midnight)

kip (sleep)

Derivation:

sleep (be asleep)

sleep (be able to accommodate for sleeping)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Be asleep

Synonyms:

catch some Z's; kip; log Z's; sleep; slumber

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "sleep" is one way to...):

rest (be at rest)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "sleep"):

bundle; practice bundling (sleep fully clothed in the same bed with one's betrothed)

catch a wink; catnap; nap (take a siesta)

sleep in; sleep late (sleep later than usual or customary)

hibernate; hole up (sleep during winter)

aestivate; estivate (sleep during summer)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue sleep

Antonym:

wake (be awake, be alert, be there)

Also:

sleep in (sleep later than usual or customary)

sleep in (live in the house where one works)

sleep late (sleep later than usual or customary)

sleep out (work in a house where one does not live)

Derivation:

sleep (a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended)

sleep (a period of time spent sleeping)

sleeper (a rester who is sleeping)

sleeping (the state of being asleep)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be able to accommodate for sleeping

Example:

This tent sleeps six people

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "sleep" is one way to...):

accommodate; admit; hold (have room for; hold without crowding)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s somebody

Derivation:

sleep (a period of time spent sleeping)

sleeper (a piece of furniture that can be opened up into a bed)

sleeper (a passenger car that has berths for sleeping)

Credits

 Context examples: 

The Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short Form (OAB-q Short Form) Interfered with getting the amount of sleep you needed?

(OAB-q Short Form - Interfered with Getting Sleep, NCI Thesaurus)

Subsequently patients develop confusion, disruption of the sleep cycle, and mental deterioration.

(African Trypanosomiasis, NCI Thesaurus)

They were the last words I heard before I dropped into an exhausted sleep.

(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The bed has been well slept in, you see.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I am sure I shall not be able to sleep.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

It is old, and has many memories, and there are bad dreams for those who sleep unwisely. Be warned!

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

To be done between dinner and the hour of sleep.

(Between Dinner and Bedtime, NCI Thesaurus)

These include: • Anxiety • Stress • Lack of food or sleep • Exposure to light • Hormonal changes (in women)

(Migraine, NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke)

At last the sun rose, and then my companions seemed to sleep easier.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

This process is involved in numerous functions, including regulation of mood, appetite, sleep, muscle contraction, and some cognitive functions including memory and learning.

(Negative Regulation of Serotonin Release, NCI Thesaurus)