Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

sleep       (slēp)  Pronunciation Key  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. A period of this form of rest. A state of inactivity resembling or suggesting sleep; unconsciousness, dormancy, hibernation, or death. Botany The folding together of leaflets or petals at night or in the absence of light. A crust of dried tears or mucus normally forming around the inner rim of the eye during sleep. v.   slept (slěpt), sleep·ing, sleeps v.   intr. To be in the state of sleep or to fall asleep. To be in a condition resembling sleep. v.   tr. To pass or get rid of by sleeping: slept away the day; went home to sleep off the headache. To provide sleeping accommodations for: This tent sleeps three comfortably. To sleep at one's place of employment: a butler and a chauffeur who sleep in. To oversleep: I missed the morning train because I slept in. To sleep late on purpose: After this week's work, I will sleep in on Saturday. To sleep at one's own home, not at one's place of employment. To sleep away from one's home. Phrasal Verb(s): sleep around Informal To be sexually active with more than one partner. sleep in To sleep at one's place of employment: a butler and a chauffeur who sleep in. To oversleep: I missed the morning train because I slept in. To sleep late on purpose: After this week's work, I will sleep in on Saturday. sleep on To think about (something) overnight before deciding. sleep out To sleep at one's own home, not at one's place of employment. To sleep away from one's home. sleep over 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.]

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

sleeping
adjective
1.	lying with head on paws as if sleeping [syn: dormant]
noun
1.	the state of being asleep [ant: waking]
2.	quiet and inactive restfulness [syn: quiescence]
3.	the suspension of consciousness and decrease in metabolic rate

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Sleeping

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.