Meaning & use
sleep
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Meanings
verbintransitive
To rest in a natural state where your eyes are closed and you are not aware of what is around you.
Grammar: No object: the baby sleeps. Use sleep in or sleep on for places: sleep on the floor.
Patterns
- sleep in a place
- sleep for a length of time
- sleep through something
I usually sleep for about eight hours.
The baby slept through the thunderstorm.
They slept on the floor because there were no beds.
noununcountable
The natural state of rest in which the body and mind are inactive and awareness is reduced.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: get some sleep. A countable use is rare: a short sleep.
Patterns
- get some sleep
- a good night's sleep
- lose sleep over something
She needs more sleep before the exam.
A good night's sleep can improve your mood.
He fell into a deep sleep on the train.
verbtransitive
To have enough beds or space for a stated number of people.
Grammar: The subject is a place: the cabin sleeps six.
Patterns
- sleep a number of people
The apartment sleeps four comfortably.
This tent sleeps two adults and a child.
The rental house sleeps up to ten guests.
verbintransitiveeuphemistic
To have sex with someone, usually as a casual phrase.
Grammar: Almost always sleep with someone.
Patterns
- sleep with someone
The novel suggests that the two characters slept together.
She never slept with her boss.
Rumors spread that they were sleeping together.
Word forms
| third person singular | sleeps |
|---|---|
| past tense | slept |
| past participle | slept |
| -ing form | sleeping |
| plural of the noun | sleeps |
Common combinations
- sleep soundly
- The children sleep soundly after a day at the beach.
- sleep like a log
- I slept like a log after the long hike.
- sleep in
- On Sundays we sleep in until nine.
- lose sleep over
- Don't lose sleep over one bad grade.
- go to sleep
- It took him an hour to go to sleep.
- sleep on it
- I'll sleep on it and give you my answer tomorrow.
Synonyms and how they differ
- doze
- Doze means sleeping lightly for a short time, so it is less complete than sleep.
- nap
- Nap is a short sleep, usually in the day, while sleep can be any length.
- slumber
- Slumber is literary and gentle, and rarely used in ordinary conversation.
- rest
- Rest means to relax and recover, which may include sleeping but does not require it.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sleep or asleep? sleep or slip?
sleep vs asleep
Asleep is an adjective used after be or fall: she is asleep. Sleep is the verb or noun: she can sleep.
sleep vs slip
Slip means to slide by accident and is easy to mix up with sleep in fast reading.
Practice
The cabin is small, but it ______ six people if they bring sleeping bags.
Choose one answer.
Sleeps six means has room for six people to sleep; rests, lies and beds are not used this way.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sleep”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.