REM sleep is a period of sleep that is very deep, during which your eyes and muscles make many small movements. It is the period during which most of your dreams occur.REM is an abbreviation for 'rapid eye movement'.
REM in British English1
abbreviation for
rapid eye movement
rapid eye movement in British English1
noun
movement of the eyeballs under closed eyelids during paradoxical sleep, which occurs while the sleeper is dreaming
Abbreviation: REM
REM in British English2
or rem (rɛm)
noun acronym for
roentgen equivalent man
roentgen equivalent man in British English2
noun
the dose of ionizing radiation that produces the same effect in man as one roentgen of x- or gamma-radiation
Abbreviation: REM, rem
REM in American English
(rɛm)
nounWord forms: pluralREMs
Psychology
the periodic, rapid, jerky movement of the eyeballs under closed lids during stages of sleep associated with dreaming
Word origin
r(apid) e(ye) m(ovement)
rem in American English
(rɛm)
nounWord forms: pluralrem
a basic unit used to measure the amount of biological damage caused by various types of ionizing radiation, equal to the dose that produces the same amount of damage in human tissue as one roentgen of X-rays or gamma rays (0.01 sievert)