[sleep] 
verb, slept, sleep⋅ing, noun | 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. |
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.
| 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. |