Meaning & use
a sleeper
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A film, book, or other work that becomes successful although few people expected it to.
Grammar: Countable; use 'a sleeper' or 'sleepers'. Often used with 'hit' or 'success'.
Patterns
- a sleeper hit
- a sleeper success
The low-budget film became a sleeper hit and made millions.
Her first novel was a sleeper that slowly gained readers.
nouncountableBritish
A train car with beds for sleeping during a journey.
Grammar: Countable; especially British. In American English, 'sleeping car' is more common.
Patterns
- travel in a sleeper
- book a sleeper
We took the overnight train and reserved a sleeper.
The sleeper was comfortable, and I slept all the way to Scotland.
nouncountablespecialist
A spy or terrorist who lives like an ordinary person for a long time before acting.
Grammar: Countable; often used in phrases like 'sleeper agent' or 'sleeper cell'.
Patterns
- a sleeper agent
- a sleeper cell
The spy was a sleeper who had lived in the country for years.
Police arrested members of a sleeper cell planning an attack.
Word forms
| plural | sleepers |
|---|
Common combinations
- sleeper hit
- The song was a sleeper hit that reached number one months later.
- sleeper agent
- The government uncovered a sleeper agent working in the embassy.
- sleeper cell
- The sleeper cell was inactive for years before the plot.
- a sleeper success
- The small café became a sleeper success in the neighborhood.
- book a sleeper
- We booked a sleeper for the night train to Vienna.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dark horse
- A person or thing that surprises people by winning; 'sleeper' is more common for entertainment works.
- sleeping car
- The full term for a train car with beds; 'sleeper' is a shorter, informal way to say it.
Word family
Commonly confused: a sleeper or sleep?
a sleeper vs sleep
The verb or noun for resting; 'a sleeper' is a person or thing that sleeps, or a surprise success.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'a sleeper' to mean a surprise success?
Choose one answer.
Option A uses 'a sleeper' for a film that unexpectedly succeeds. B means a person who sleeps lightly, C means a train car, and D means a spy group.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a sleeper”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.