sleep

verb

/sliːp/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they sleep	/sliːp/ /sliːp/
he / she / it sleeps	/sliːps/ /sliːps/
past simple slept	/slept/ /slept/
past participle slept	/slept/ /slept/
-ing form sleeping	/ˈsliːpɪŋ/ /ˈsliːpɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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[intransitive] to rest with your eyes closed and your mind and body not active
- Let her sleep—it'll do her good.
- + adv./prep. to sleep well
- to sleep deeply/soundly/peacefully/badly
- I couldn't sleep because of the noise.
- I can't sleep at night and I'm stressed all the time.
- It was nice to sleep in my own bed again.
- They now sleep in separate rooms.
- He told me I could sleep on the floor at his place.
- I had to sleep on the sofa.
- He slept solidly for ten hours.
- I slept at my sister's house last night (= stayed the night there).
- We both slept right through (= were not woken up by) the storm.
- She only sleeps for four hours a night.
- We sometimes sleep late at the weekends (= until late in the morning).
- I put the sleeping baby down gently.
- What are our sleeping arrangements here (= where shall we sleep)?
It is more common to say that somebody is asleep than to say that somebody is sleeping. Sleep can only be used in the passive with a preposition such as in or on: It was clear her bed hadn't been slept in.
Wordfinder
- doze
- dream
- drowsy
- insomnia
- oversleep
- REM
- sedative
- sleep
- soporific
- tired
Synonyms sleep
sleep
- doze
- nap
- snooze
These words all mean to rest with your eyes closed and your mind and body not active.
- sleep to rest with your eyes shut and your mind and body not active:
  Did you sleep well?
  I couldn’t sleep last night.
  It is more usual to say that somebody is asleep than that they are sleeping; but if you use an adverb to say how they are sleeping, use sleeping: ‘What’s Ashley doing?’ ‘Sh! She’s asleep.’ • The baby was sleeping peacefully. • The baby was asleep peacefully.
- doze to sleep lightly, waking up easily, often when you are not in bed:
  He was dozing in front of the TV.
- nap to sleep for a short time, especially during the day.
- snooze (informal) to sleep lightly for a short time, especially during the day and usually not in bed:
  My brother was snoozing on the sofa.
Patterns
- to sleep/doze lightly/fitfully
- to doze/snooze gently
Extra Examples
- Did you sleep well last night?
- No, I slept pretty badly.
- He was exhausted and slept deeply.
- I had to sleep on my back for the first few days after the accident.
- I haven't slept properly for weeks.
- I've been having trouble sleeping lately.
- She always slept very lightly so I had to be careful not to wake her.
- She felt as if she had hardly slept.
- She scolded him for sleeping so long.
- The children were all sleeping soundly.
- Very few babies sleep through the night.
- We slept overnight at the beach.
- When the murderer is caught we can all sleep easier in our beds at night.
- Be quiet—I'm trying to sleep!
- He lay there for hours, sleeping fitfully.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adverb
- properly
- soundly
- well
- …
verb + sleep
- be unable to
- cannot
- try to
- …
preposition
- for
- through
- with
- …
phrases
- have trouble sleeping
- not sleep a wink
- sleep like a baby
- …
See full entry
[transitive, no passive] sleep somebody to have enough beds for a particular number of people
- The apartment sleeps six.
- The hotel sleeps 120 guests.

Word OriginOld English slēp, slǣp (noun), slēpan, slǣpan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch slapen and German schlafen.

Idioms

breathe/rest/sleep easy

to relax and stop worrying
- You can rest easy—I'm not going to tell anyone.
- I can sleep easy knowing that she's safely home.

let sleeping dogs lie

(saying) to avoid mentioning a subject or something that happened in the past, in order to avoid any problems or arguments

live/sleep rough

(British English) to live or sleep outdoors, usually because you have no home and no money
- young people sleeping rough on the streets
related noun rough sleeper

not get/have a wink of sleep | not sleep a wink

to not be able to sleep
- I didn't get a wink of sleep last night.
- I hardly slept a wink.

sleep/breathe/rest easy

to relax and stop worrying
- I can sleep easy knowing that she's safely home.

sleep like a log/baby

(informal) to sleep very well
- He was so tired after all his exertions, he slept like a baby.
- I usually sleep like a log.

sleep tight

(informal) used especially to children before they go to bed to say that you hope they sleep well
- Goodnight, sleep tight!

sleep

noun

/sliːp/

Idioms

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[uncountable] the natural state of rest in which your eyes are closed, your body is not active, and your mind is not conscious
- I need to get some sleep.
- I didn't get much sleep last night.
- Can you give me something to help me get to sleep (= start sleeping)?
- Go to sleep—it's late.
- His talk nearly sent me to sleep (= it was boring).
- Try to go back to sleep.
- in your sleep He cried out in his sleep.
- Anxiety can be caused by lack of sleep.
- I only got about five hours' sleep.
- She was clearly suffering from sleep deprivation.
- How long have you ever gone without sleep?
Extra Examples
- He drifted in and out of sleep all night.
- He often walks and talks in his sleep.
- I feigned sleep when the ticket inspector came round.
- I used Saturday to catch up on my sleep.
- I'm off to bed for some much-needed sleep.
- Sleep came to her in snatches.
- Sleep finally overtook me.
- Tom was in the front room sleeping the sleep of the dead.
- a decreased heart rate during sleep
- the use of drugs to induce sleep
- the nation's most commonly prescribed sleep aid
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- deep
- light
- much-needed
- …
verb + sleep
- drift into
- drift off to
- drop off to
- …
sleep + verb
- come
- overcome somebody
- overtake somebody
- …
sleep + noun
- cycle
- pattern
- schedule
- …
preposition
- during sleep
- in your sleep
phrases
- a lack of sleep
- a wink of sleep
See full entry
[singular] a period of sleep
- Did you have a good sleep?
- Ros fell into a deep sleep.
- I'll feel better after a good night's sleep (= a night when I sleep well).
Extra Examples
- I woke up early after a disturbed sleep.
- I was in a deep sleep when the phone rang.
- I immediately fell into a dead sleep.
- He woke from a fitful sleep with a headache.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- long
- little
- short
- …
verb + sleep
- need
- have
- be in
- …
phrases
- a good, poor, etc. night’s sleep
See full entry
[uncountable] (informal) the substance that sometimes forms in the corners of your eyes after you have been sleeping
- Ned rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Word OriginOld English slēp, slǣp (noun), slēpan, slǣpan (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch slapen and German schlafen.

Idioms

be able to do something in your sleep

(informal) to be able to do something very easily because you have done it many times before
- I haven’t done many portraits, but I could paint landscapes in my sleep.

go to sleep

(informal) if part of your body goes to sleep, you lose the sense of feeling in it, usually because it has been in the same position for too long
- My foot’s gone to sleep.

not get/have a wink of sleep | not sleep a wink

to not be able to sleep
- I didn't get a wink of sleep last night.
- I hardly slept a wink.

not lose sleep/lose no sleep over something

to not worry much about something
- It's not worth losing sleep over.
- Don't lose sleep over it—we'll sort everything out in the morning.

put somebody to sleep

(informal) to make somebody unconscious before an operation by using drugs (called an anaesthetic)

put something to sleep

to kill a sick or injured animal by giving it drugs so that it dies without pain. People say ‘put to sleep’ to avoid saying ‘kill’.
- We had to have our dog put to sleep.