any long wooden, metal, or stone piece lying horizontally as a sill or footing.
b.
any of a number of wooden pieces, laid upon the ground or upon masonry or concrete, to which floorboards are nailed.
4.
a sleeping car.
5.
Informal. something or someone that becomes unexpectedly successful or important after a period of being unnoticed, ignored, or considered unpromising or a failure: The play was the sleeper of the season.
6.
merchandise that is not quickly sold because its value is not immediately recognized.
7.
Often, sleepers.one-piece or two-piece pajamas with feet, esp. for children.
a sofa, chair, or other piece of furniture that is designed to open up or unfold into a bed; convertible.
10.
Also called sleep, sand.a globule that forms at the inner corner of the eye, esp. during sleep, from the accumulated secretion of the glands of the eyelid.
11.
any of several gobioid fishes of the family Eleotridae, of tropical seas, most species of which have the habit of resting quietly on the bottom.
12.
Slang. a spy; mole.
13.
Slang. a juvenile delinquent sentenced to serve more than nine months.
14.
Bowling. a pin that is hidden from view by another pin.
15.
Chiefly British. a timber or beam laid in a railroad track, serving as a foundation or support for the rails; tie.
One that sleeps: a heavy sleeper who was not wakened by the burglar.
A sleeping car.
Children's pajamas, usually with legs that cover the feet. Often used in the plural.
One that achieves unexpected recognition or success, as a racehorse or movie.
A spy or saboteur who is planted in an enemy country and who lives unobtrusively as a citizen of that country until activated into clandestine operations by a prearranged signal.
A horizontal structural member on or near the ground that supports weight.
Chiefly British A railroad crosstie.
Any of various usually small marine and freshwater fishes of the family Eleotridae, related to the gobies but lacking a sucking disk and noted for their habit of lying immobile.
c.1225, "one who sleeps, one who is inclined to sleep much," agent noun of sleep (v.). Meaning "railroad sleeping car" is from 1875. Sense of "something whose importance proves to be greater than expected" first attested 1892, originally in Amer.Eng,. sports jargon, probably from earlier gambling slang (1856) sense of "unexpected winning card." Meaning "spy, enemy agent, etc. who remains undercover for a long time before attempting his purpose" first attested 1955, originally in ref. to communist agents in the West.
Sleep"er\, n. 1. One who sleeps; a slumberer; hence, a drone, or lazy person. 2. That which lies dormant, as a law. [Obs.] --Bacon. 3. A sleeping car. [Colloq. U.S.] 4. (Zo["o]l.) An animal that hibernates, as the bear. 5. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A large fresh-water gobioid fish (Eleotris dormatrix). (b) A nurse shark. See under Nurse.
Sleep"er\, n. [Cf. Norw. sleip a sleeper (a timber), as adj., slippery, smooth. See Slape.] Something lying in a reclining posture or position. Specifically: (a) One of the pieces of timber, stone, or iron, on or near the level of the ground, for the support of some superstructure, to steady framework, to keep in place the rails of a railway, etc.; a stringpiece. (b) One of the joists, or roughly shaped timbers, laid directly upon the ground, to receive the flooring of the ground story. [U.S.] (c) (Naut.) One of the knees which connect the transoms to the after timbers on the ship's quarter. (d) (Naut.) The lowest, or bottom, tier of casks.
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