sleep
/sliːp/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: Zipf frequency 5.05 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To have sexual intercourse (see sleep with).
verb
To be careless, inattentive, or unconcerned; not to be vigilant; to live thoughtlessly.
Intransitive verb
verb
To be, or appear to be, in repose; to be quiet; to be unemployed, unused, or unagitated; to rest; to lie dormant.
Intransitive verb
Example Sentences
- "You should sleep eight hours a day."
- "We sleep in the bedroom."
- "Last night we slept together for the first time."
- "This caravan can sleep four people comfortably."
- "Huge red tents erected around our small yellow one. Huge red tents that could sleep 8 and instead sleep 2. Lawn furniture is scattered about, duffle bags arrive, the clatter of pots and pans."
- "We ſleep over our Happineſs, Great as it is, and want to be rous'd into a quick and thankful ſenſe of it, either by an actual Change of Circumſtances, or by a Compariſon of our Own caſe with that of other Men."
Etymology
From Middle English slepen, from Anglian Old English slēpan (West Saxon Old English slǣpan), from Proto-West Germanic *slāpan, from Proto-Germanic *slēpaną (“to sleep”). Cognates Cognate with North Frisian sleepe, sliap, sliip, släipe (“to sleep”), Saterland Frisian släipe (“to sleep”), West Frisian sliepe (“to sleep”), Alemannic German schlaaffe, schlaafä, schlafe, schloafe, schloafen, schlofe, schlàfu (“to sleep”), Bavarian schlofn, schlåfn, sghlofn (“to sleep”), Central Franconian schlofe (“to sleep”), Cimbrian slaafan, slafan, slavan (“to sleep”), Dutch and Low German slapen (“to sleep”), German schlafen (“to sleep”), Limburgish schloëpe, slaope (“to sleep”), Luxembourgish schlofen (“to sleep”), Mòcheno schloven (“to sleep”), Vilamovian šłȫfa, śłöfa (“to sleep”), Yiddish שלאָפֿן (shlofn, “to sleep”), Crimean Gothic schlipen (“to sleep”), Gothic 𐍃𐌻𐌴𐍀𐌰𐌽 (slēpan, “to sleep”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: slepen, slēpan, *slāpan, *slēpaną, slepe, slǣp
Usage
Inflected Forms
sleeps (present, singular)
sleeping (participle, present)
slept (participle, past)
slept (past)
no-table-tags (table tags)
glossary (inflection template)
slept (first person, past)
sleepest (archaic, present)
slept (past, second person)
sleptst (archaic, past)
sleptest (archaic, past)
sleepeth (archaic, present)