I. sleep 1 S1 W2 /sliːp/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle slept /slept/) [intransitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ sleep , ↑ sleeper , ↑ sleepiness , ↑ sleeplessness ; adjective : ↑ asleep , ↑ sleepless , ↑ sleepy ; adverb : ↑ sleepily , ↑ sleeplessly ; verb : ↑ sleep ]
1 . to rest your mind and body, usually at night when you are lying in bed with your eyes closed ⇨ asleep :
I usually sleep on my back.
Did you sleep well?
He’s lucky because at least he has somewhere to sleep.
2 . sleep rough British English to sleep outdoors in uncomfortable conditions, especially because you have no money
3 . sleep on it spoken to not make a decision about something important until the next day
4 . sleep tight spoken said especially to children before they go to bed to say that you hope they sleep well:
Good night, Jenny. Sleep tight!
5 . somebody can sleep easy used to say that someone no longer has to worry about something:
Unlike some other Internet sites, when you buy from us, you can sleep easy.
6 . sleep two/four/six etc to have enough beds for a particular number of people:
The villa sleeps four.
7 . let sleeping dogs lie to deliberately avoid mentioning a subject, so that you do not cause any trouble or argument
8 . literary if a village, house etc sleeps, it is very quiet during the night
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COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ sleep well
I haven’t been sleeping well lately.
▪ sleep badly
Eleanor slept badly that night.
▪ sleep soundly/deeply (=in a way that means you are not likely to wake)
Within seconds, Maggie was sleeping soundly.
▪ sleep peacefully
Celia slept peacefully beside him.
▪ sleep uneasily (=not sleep well, because you are worried)
That night I slept uneasily, anxious about the meeting the next day.
▪ sleep fitfully literary (=sleep badly, waking up after short periods, especially because you are worried)
She slept fitfully, her mind filled with images of Jack’s face.
▪ barely/hardly sleep (=to not sleep well)
I’d hardly slept the night before the wedding.
▪ sleep late (=not wake up until late in the morning)
She had slept late; it was already eleven.
■ phrases
▪ can’t/couldn’t sleep
I went to bed, but I couldn’t sleep.
▪ be unable to sleep
He lay down but was unable to sleep.
▪ have trouble sleeping (=to not sleep well)
Why do so many elderly people have trouble sleeping?
▪ sleep like a log ( also sleep like a baby ) informal (=sleep very well)
I was exhausted and slept like a log.
▪ not sleep a wink informal (=not sleep at all)
I didn’t sleep a wink last night.
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THESAURUS
▪ sleep to rest your mind and body with your eyes closed. Sleep is usually used when talking about how long, how deeply, or where someone sleeps. When saying that someone is not awake, you use be asleep :
Most people sleep for about eight hours.
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He slept downstairs.
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Did you sleep well?
▪ be asleep to be sleeping:
The baby’s asleep – don’t wake her.
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He was fast asleep (=completely asleep) by the time I got home.
▪ oversleep to sleep for longer than you intended so that you wake up late in the morning:
I overslept and was late for work.
▪ take a nap ( also have a nap especially British English ) ( also have forty winks informal ) to sleep for a short time during the day:
I think I’ll have a nap.
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She had been awake all night and was looking forward to taking a nap.
▪ have/take a snooze informal to sleep for a short time, especially in a chair, not in a bed:
I think I’ll have a quick snooze.
▪ doze to sleep lightly, for example in a chair, and be easily woken:
I wasn’t really asleep – I was just dozing.
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I must have dozed off (=started sleeping) halfway through the film.
▪ kip British English informal to sleep somewhere, especially somewhere that is not your home – a very informal use:
I kipped at my mate’s for a couple of days.
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Is it alright if I kip on the floor?
sleep around phrasal verb informal
to have sex with a lot of different people without having a serious relationship with any of them – used to show disapproval
sleep in phrasal verb informal
to let yourself sleep later than usual in the morning:
We usually sleep in on Sunday mornings.
sleep something ↔ off phrasal verb informal
to sleep until you do not feel ill any more, especially after drinking too much alcohol:
He went to his room to sleep it off.
sleep over phrasal verb
to sleep at someone’s house for a night – used especially by children
sleep through phrasal verb
1 . sleep through something to sleep while something is happening and not be woken by it:
How did you manage to sleep through that thunderstorm?
2 . sleep through (something) to sleep continuously for a long time:
I slept right through till lunchtime.
The baby slept peacefully through the night.
sleep together phrasal verb
if people sleep together, they have sex with each other
sleep with somebody phrasal verb
to have sex with someone, especially someone you are not married to:
Everybody in the office knows he’s been sleeping with Kathy.
II. sleep 2 S2 W3 BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ sleep , ↑ sleeper , ↑ sleepiness , ↑ sleeplessness ; adjective : ↑ asleep , ↑ sleepless , ↑ sleepy ; adverb : ↑ sleepily , ↑ sleeplessly ; verb : ↑ sleep ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: slæp ]
1 . BEING ASLEEP [uncountable] the natural state of resting your mind and body, usually at night ⇨ beauty sleep :
I didn’t get much sleep last night.
Her eyes were red through lack of sleep.
in your sleep (=while sleeping)
Ed often talks in his sleep.
She died peacefully in her sleep.
2 . PERIOD OF SLEEPING [singular] a period when you are sleeping:
I had a little sleep in the afternoon.
She was woken from a deep sleep by a ring at the door.
3 . go to sleep
a) to start sleeping:
I went to sleep at 9 o'clock and woke up at 6.
b) informal if a part of your body goes to sleep, you cannot feel it for a short time because it has not been getting enough blood
4 . lose sleep over something to worry about something:
It’s a practice game – I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it.
5 . put somebody/something to sleep
a) to give drugs to a sick animal so that it dies without too much pain – used to avoid saying the word ‘kill’
b) informal to make someone unconscious before a medical operation by giving them drugs
6 . somebody can do something in their sleep informal used to say that someone is able to do something very easily, especially because they have done it many times before:
She knew the music so well she could play it in her sleep.
7 . send somebody to sleep
a) to make someone go to sleep:
The combination of warmth and music sent him to sleep.
b) if something sends someone to sleep, it is extremely boring
8 . IN YOUR EYES [uncountable] informal a substance that forms in the corners of your eyes while you are sleeping:
She rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meanings 1 & 2)
■ verbs
▪ go to sleep (=start sleeping)
He turned over and went to sleep.
▪ drift/drop off to sleep (=start sleeping, especially without meaning to)
She’d drifted off to sleep on the sofa.
▪ get to sleep (=succeed in starting to sleep)
Last night I couldn’t get to sleep.
▪ go back/get back to sleep (=sleep again after waking up)
He shut his eyes and went back to sleep.
▪ send somebody to sleep (=make someone start sleeping)
She hoped the music would send her to sleep.
▪ get some sleep (=sleep for a while)
You’d better get some sleep.
▪ have a sleep British English (=sleep for a short while)
Are you going to have a sleep after lunch today?
▪ catch up on some sleep (=sleep after not having enough sleep)
I suggest you try and catch up on some sleep.
▪ sing/rock/lull somebody to sleep (=make someone sleep by singing etc)
She was usually able to rock the baby back to sleep quite quickly.
■ adjectives
▪ a long sleep
He needed a decent meal and a long sleep.
▪ a little/short sleep
I always have a little sleep in the afternoon.
▪ a deep/sound/heavy sleep (=a sleep from which you cannot easily be woken)
The noise woke him from a deep sleep.
▪ a light sleep (=a sleep from which you can easily be woken)
I fell into a light sleep.
▪ a dreamless sleep (=in which you do not dream)
She fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
▪ an exhausted sleep (=because you were very tired)
He finally woke from an exhausted sleep.
▪ a fitful/restless/uneasy sleep (=in which you keep moving or waking)
My alarm woke me from a fitful sleep.
■ phrases
▪ a good night’s sleep (=when you sleep well)
I woke up refreshed after a good night’s sleep.
▪ five/eight etc hours’ sleep
After eight hours’ sleep, I woke up in pitch blackness.
▪ drift in and out of sleep (=keep almost waking up)
I lay in the garden, drifting in and out of sleep.
▪ cry yourself to sleep (=cry until you fall asleep)
I used to cry myself to sleep every night.
▪ fall into a deep/long etc sleep (=start sleeping deeply, for a long time etc)
He lay down on his bed and fell into a deep sleep.
▪ wake/be woken from a deep/long etc sleep
A very long time later I woke from a deep sleep.
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say 'go sleep’ . Say go to sleep .
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THESAURUS
▪ sleep the natural state of resting your mind and body, when your eyes are closed and you do not notice anything happening around you:
I hardly got any sleep at all last night.
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He woke suddenly from a deep sleep.
▪ slumber/slumbers literary sleep:
She fell into an uneasy slumber.
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He awoke from his slumbers.
▪ shut-eye informal especially humorous sleep:
I really need to get some shut-eye.
▪ doze a period in which you sleep lightly, especially when you are not in your bed:
Edward was so tired he fell into a doze on the settee.
▪ snooze informal a short period when you sleep lightly, especially when you are not in your bed:
He decided to have a snooze on the sofa while he was waiting for the others to get ready.
▪ nap a short sleep, especially during the day:
He’s taking a nap.
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Helen put the baby down for a nap after lunch.
▪ forty winks informal a short sleep, especially during the day:
I’m just going to have forty winks.
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I felt a lot better after I had had forty winks.