/ əˈsliːp; NAmE / adjective
[ not before noun ] sleeping :
The baby was sound asleep (= sleeping deeply) upstairs.
I waited until they were all fast asleep (= sleeping deeply) .
He was so exhausted that he fell asleep at his desk.
She was still half asleep (= not fully awake) when she arrived at work.
The police found him asleep in a garage.
OPP awake
••
SYNONYMS
asleep
fall asleep ♦ go to sleep ♦ get to sleep ♦ drift off ♦ nod off ♦ drop off
These words all mean to start to sleep.
fall asleep
to start to sleep, sometimes when you do not intend to or in a situation that is not appropriate:
When she finally fell asleep, she began to dream.
•
I pinched myself to stop myself from falling asleep.
go to sleep
to start to sleep, especially when you intend to:
I shut my eyes and tried to go to sleep.
•
He woke for a moment and then went to sleep again.
get to sleep
to start sleeping, especially after a long time or when this is difficult:
He took a long time getting to sleep that night.
drift off
to fall asleep, especially gradually:
I must have drifted off, because when I woke we were nearly home.
nod off
( informal ) to fall asleep for a short time, especially when you are sitting down and when you are not supposed to be sleeping:
I was practically nodding off in that meeting.
drop off
( BrE informal ) to start sleeping lightly:
I dropped off and missed the end of the film.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to fall asleep / go to sleep / drift off / nod off / drop off during / in the middle of sth
sb must have fallen asleep / gone to sleep / drifted off / nodded off / dropped off
to drift off / nod off/ drop off to sleep
to finally fall asleep / go to sleep / get to sleep / drift off / nod off