sleep
15 dictionary results for: sleep
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
sleep 
[sleep] Pronunciation Key verb, slept, sleep·ing, noun
—Related forms
[sleep] Pronunciation Key verb, slept, sleep·ing, noun –verb (used without object)
–verb (used with object)
–noun
—Verb phrases
—Idiom
| 1. | to take the rest afforded by a suspension of voluntary bodily functions and the natural suspension, complete or partial, of consciousness; cease being awake. |
| 2. | Botany. to assume, esp. at night, a state similar to the sleep of animals, marked by closing of petals, leaves, etc. |
| 3. | to be dormant, quiescent, or inactive, as faculties. |
| 4. | to be careless or unalert; allow one's alertness, vigilance, or attentiveness to lie dormant: While England slept, Germany prepared for war. |
| 5. | to lie in death: They are sleeping in their tombs. |
| 6. | to take rest in (a specified kind of sleep): He slept the sleep of the innocent. |
| 7. | to accommodate for sleeping; have sleeping accommodations for: This trailer sleeps three people. |
| 8. | to spend or pass in sleep (usually fol. by away or out): to sleep the day away. |
| 9. | to recover from the effects of (a headache, hangover, etc.) by sleeping (usually fol. by off or away). |
| 10. | the state of a person, animal, or plant that sleeps. |
| 11. | a period of sleeping: a brief sleep. |
| 12. | dormancy or inactivity. |
| 13. | the repose of death. |
| 14. | sleeper (def. 10). |
| 15. | sleep around, Informal. to have sexual relations with many partners, esp. in a casual way; be sexually promiscuous. |
| 16. | sleep in,
|
| 17. | sleep on, to postpone making a decision about for at least a day: to sleep on a proposal till the end of the week. |
| 18. | sleep out,
|
| 19. | sleep over, to spend one or more nights in a place other than one's own home: Two friends will sleep over this weekend. |
| 20. | sleep together, to be sexual partners; have a sexual relationship. |
| 21. | sleep with, to have sexual relations with. |
| 22. | put to sleep, to put (an animal) to death in a humane way: to put a sick old dog to sleep. |
[Origin: bef. 900; (n.) ME; OE slép (Anglian), slǣp, slāp; c. D slaap, G Schlaf, Goth sléps; (v.) ME slepen, OE slépan, slǣpan, slāpan, c. OS slāpan, Goth slépan]
] —Related forms
sleepful, adjective
sleeplike, adjective
—Synonyms 1. slumber, nap, drowse, doze. 10. rest, repose. 11. nap.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| sleep
(slēp) Pronunciation Key
n.
v. slept (slěpt), sleep·ing, sleeps v. intr.
v. tr.
Phrasal Verb(s): sleep around Informal To be sexually active with more than one partner. sleep in
To think about (something) overnight before deciding. sleep out
To spend the night as a guest in another's home. sleep together To have sexual relations. sleep with To have sexual relations with. Idiom(s): sleep like a log/rock To sleep very deeply. [Middle English slepe, from Old English slæp; see slēb- in Indo-European roots.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sleep (v.)
sleep (v.)
O.E. slæpan "to sleep" (class VII strong verb; past tense slep, pp. slæpen), from W.Gmc. *slæpanan (cf. O.S. slapan, O.Fris. slepa, M.Du. slapen, Du. slapen, O.H.G. slafen, Ger. schlafen, Goth. slepan "to sleep"), from PIE base *sleb- "to be weak, sleep" (cf. O.C.S. slabu, Lith. silpnas "weak"), which is perhaps connected to the root of slack (adj.). Sleep with "do the sex act with" is in O.E.
"Gif hwa fæmnan beswice unbeweddode, and hire mid slæpe ..." [Laws of King Alfred, c.900]Sleep around first attested 1928. Sleeping sickness as a specific African tropical disease is first recorded 1875. Sleepless is from 1412; sleepy first attested c.1225.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sleep (n.)
sleep (n.)
O.E. slæp from the root of sleep (v.) (cf. cognate O.S. slap, O.Fris. slep, M.Du. slæp, Du. slaap, O.H.G. slaf, Ger. Schlaf, Goth. sleps). Personified as L. Somnus, Gk. Hypnos (see somnolence). Fig. use for "repose of death" was in O.E.; to put (an animal) to sleep "kill painlessly" is recorded from 1942. Sleep-walker "somnambulist" is attested from 1747. To be able to do something in (one's) sleep "easily" is recorded from 1953.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| sleep | |
noun | |
| 1. | a natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended; "he didn't get enough sleep last night"; "calm as a child in dreamless slumber" |
| 2. | a torpid state resembling deep sleep |
| 3. | a period of time spent sleeping; "he felt better after a little sleep"; "there wasn't time for a nap" |
| 4. | euphemisms for death (based on an analogy between lying in a bed and in a tomb); "she was laid to rest beside her husband"; "they had to put their family pet to sleep" [syn: rest] |
verb | |
| 1. | be asleep [ant: wake] |
| 2. | be able to accommodate for sleeping; "This tent sleeps six people" |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms - Cite This Source - Share This
sleep
In addition to the idioms beginning with sleep, also see let sleeping dogs lie; lose sleep over; put to sleep. Also see under asleep.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| sleep
(slēp) Pronunciation Key
A natural, reversible state of rest in most vertebrate animals, occurring at regular intervals and necessary for the maintenance of health. During sleep, the eyes usually close, the muscles relax, and responsiveness to external stimuli decreases. Growth and repair of the tissues of the body are thought to occur, and energy is conserved and stored. In humans and certain other animals, sleep occurs in five stages, the first four consisting of non-REM sleep and the last stage consisting of REM sleep. These stages constitute a sleep cycle that repeats itself about five times during a normal episode of sleep. Each cycle is longer that the one preceding it because the length of the REM stage increases with every cycle until waking occurs. Stage I is characterized by drowsiness, Stage II by light sleep, and Stages III and IV by deep sleep. Stages II and III repeat themselves before REM sleep (Stage V), which occurs about 90 minutes after the onset of sleep. During REM sleep, dreams occur, and memory is thought to be organized. In the stages of non-REM sleep, there are no dreams, and brain activity decreases while the body recovers from wakeful activity. The amount and periodicity of sleep in humans vary with age, with infants sleeping frequently for shorter periods, and mature adults sleeping for longer uninterrupted periods. See also non-REM sleep, REM sleep.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
sleep (slēp)
n.
A natural periodic state of rest for the mind and body, in which the eyes usually close and consciousness is completely or partially lost, so that there is a decrease in bodily movement and responsiveness to external stimuli. During sleep the brain in humans and other mammals undergoes a characteristic cycle of brain-wave activity that includes intervals of dreaming. v. slept (slěpt), sleep·ing, sleeps
To be in the state of sleep.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This
sleep
1.
The alternative is to poll or "busy wait" for the event but this uses processing power.
Also used in the phrase "sleep on" (or "block on") some external event, meaning to wait for it.
E.g. the Unix command of the same name which pauses the current process for a given number of seconds.
2.
[The Jargon File]
(2000-09-25)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
Jargon File - Cite This Source - Share This
1. [techspeak] To relinquish a claim (of a process on a multitasking system) for service; to indicate to the scheduler that a process may be deactivated until some given event occurs or a specified time delay elapses.
2. In jargon, used very similarly to v. block; also in `sleep on', syn. with `block on'. Often used to indicate that the speaker has relinquished a demand for resources until some (possibly unspecified) external event: "They can't get the fix I've been asking for into the next release, so I'm going to sleep on it until the release, then start hassling them again."
sleep
vi.1. [techspeak] To relinquish a claim (of a process on a multitasking system) for service; to indicate to the scheduler that a process may be deactivated until some given event occurs or a specified time delay elapses.
2. In jargon, used very similarly to v. block; also in `sleep on', syn. with `block on'. Often used to indicate that the speaker has relinquished a demand for resources until some (possibly unspecified) external event: "They can't get the fix I've been asking for into the next release, so I'm going to sleep on it until the release, then start hassling them again."
Jargon File 4.2.0
U.S. Gazetteer - Cite This Source - Share This
Ten Sleep, WY (town, FIPS 75790) Location: 44.03473 N, 107.44735 W
Population (1990): 311 (175 housing units)
Area: 0.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 82442
U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Sleep
Sleep\, obs. imp. of Sleep. Slept. --Chaucer.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Sleep
Sleep\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Slept; p. pr. & vb. n. Sleeping.] [OE. slepen, AS. sl?pan; akin to OFries. sl?pa, OS. sl[=a]pan, D. slapen, OHG. sl[=a]fan, G. schlafen, Goth. sl?pan, and G. schlaff slack, loose, and L. labi to glide, slide, labare to totter. Cf. Lapse.]1. To take rest by a suspension of the voluntary exercise of the powers of the body and mind, and an apathy of the organs of sense; to slumber. --Chaucer. Watching at the head of these that sleep. --Milton. 2. Figuratively: (a) To be careless, inattentive, or uncouncerned; not to be vigilant; to live thoughtlessly. We sleep over our happiness. --Atterbury. (b) To be dead; to lie in the grave. Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. --1 Thess. iv. 14. (c) To be, or appear to be, in repose; to be quiet; to be unemployed, unused, or unagitated; to rest; to lie dormant; as, a question sleeps for the present; the law sleeps. How sweet the moonlight sleep upon this bank! --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Sleep
Sleep\, v. t. 1. To be slumbering in; -- followed by a cognate object; as, to sleep a dreamless sleep. --Tennyson. 2. To give sleep to; to furnish with accomodations for sleeping; to lodge. [R.] --Blackw. Mag. To sleep away, to spend in sleep; as, to sleep away precious time. To sleep off, to become free from by sleep; as, to sleep off drunkeness or fatigue.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Sleep
Sleep\, n. [AS. sl[=ae]p; akin to OFries. sl[=e]p, OS. sl[=a]p, D. slaap, OHG. sl[=a]f, G. schlaf, Goth. sl[=e]ps. See Sleep, v. i.] A natural and healthy, but temporary and periodical, suspension of the functions of the organs of sense, as well as of those of the voluntary and rational soul; that state of the animal in which there is a lessened acuteness of sensory perception, a confusion of ideas, and a loss of mental control, followed by a more or less unconscious state. "A man that waketh of his sleep." --Chaucer. O sleep, thou ape of death. --Shak. Note: Sleep is attended by a relaxation of the muscles, and the absence of voluntary activity for any rational objects or purpose. The pulse is slower, the respiratory movements fewer in number but more profound, and there is less blood in the cerebral vessels. It is susceptible of greater or less intensity or completeness in its control of the powers. Sleep of plants (Bot.), a state of plants, usually at night, when their leaflets approach each other, and the flowers close and droop, or are covered by the folded leaves. Syn: Slumber; repose; rest; nap; doze; drowse.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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