Meaning of "sleep" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD SLEEP

Old English slǣpan; related to Old Frisian slēpa, Old Saxon slāpan, Old High German slāfan, German schlaff limp.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF SLEEP

sleep  [sliːp]

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF SLEEP

Sleep is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb sleep in English.

WHAT DOES SLEEP MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Sleep

In animals, sleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, and inhibition of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and it is more easily reversible than being in hibernation or a coma. During sleep, most systems in an animal are in a heightened anabolic state, accentuating the growth and rejuvenation of the immune, nervous, skeletal and muscular systems etc. It is observed in mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, and (in some form) in insects and even simpler animals such as nematodes (see the related article Sleep (non-human)), suggesting that sleep is universal in the animal kingdom. The purposes and mechanisms of sleep are only partially clear and the subject of substantial ongoing research. Sleep is sometimes thought to help conserve energy, though this theory is not fully adequate as it only decreases metabolism by about 5–10%.

Definition of sleep in the English dictionary

The first definition of sleep in the dictionary is a period spent sleeping. Other definition of sleep is a state of quiescence or dormancy. Sleep is also the dried mucoid particles often found in the corners of the eyes after sleeping.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO SLEEP

PRESENT

Present

I sleep

you sleep

he/she/it sleeps

we sleep

you sleep

they sleep

Present continuous

I am sleeping

you are sleeping

he/she/it is sleeping

we are sleeping

you are sleeping

they are sleeping

Present perfect

I have slept

you have slept

he/she/it has slept

we have slept

you have slept

they have slept

Present perfect continuous

I have been sleeping

you have been sleeping

he/she/it has been sleeping

we have been sleeping

you have been sleeping

they have been sleeping

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I slept

you slept

he/she/it slept

we slept

you slept

they slept

Past continuous

I was sleeping

you were sleeping

he/she/it was sleeping

we were sleeping

you were sleeping

they were sleeping

Past perfect

I had slept

you had slept

he/she/it had slept

we had slept

you had slept

they had slept

Past perfect continuous

I had been sleeping

you had been sleeping

he/she/it had been sleeping

we had been sleeping

you had been sleeping

they had been sleeping

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will sleep

you will sleep

he/she/it will sleep

we will sleep

you will sleep

they will sleep

Future continuous

I will be sleeping

you will be sleeping

he/she/it will be sleeping

we will be sleeping

you will be sleeping

they will be sleeping

Future perfect

I will have slept

you will have slept

he/she/it will have slept

we will have slept

you will have slept

they will have slept

Future perfect continuous

I will have been sleeping

you will have been sleeping

he/she/it will have been sleeping

we will have been sleeping

you will have been sleeping

they will have been sleeping

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would sleep

you would sleep

he/she/it would sleep

we would sleep

you would sleep

they would sleep

Conditional continuous

I would be sleeping

you would be sleeping

he/she/it would be sleeping

we would be sleeping

you would be sleeping

they would be sleeping

Conditional perfect

I would have sleep

you would have sleep

he/she/it would have sleep

we would have sleep

you would have sleep

they would have sleep

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been sleeping

you would have been sleeping

he/she/it would have been sleeping

we would have been sleeping

you would have been sleeping

they would have been sleeping

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you sleep
we let´s sleep
you sleep

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to sleep

Past participle

slept

Present Participle

sleeping

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «SLEEP»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «sleep» and belong to the same grammatical category.

synonyms of sleep

accommodate · beauty sleep · catnap · dormancy · doze · drop off · drowse · forty winks · hibernate · hibernation · hold · house · kip · lodge · nap · nod off · repose · rest · shuteye · siesta · slumber · snooze · snore · take · zizz

TRANSLATION OF SLEEP

Find out the translation of sleep to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of sleep from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «sleep» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 睡眠
• Translator English - Spanish: sueño
• English: sleep
• Translator English - Hindi: नींद
• Translator English - Arabic: نَوْم
• Translator English - Russian: сон
• Translator English - Portuguese: sono
• Translator English - Bengali: ঘুম
• Translator English - French: sommeil
• Translator English - Malay: Tidur
• Translator English - German: Schlaf
• Translator English - Japanese: 眠り
• Translator English - Korean: 잠
• Translator English - Javanese: Turu
• Translator English - Vietnamese: trạng thái ngủ
• Translator English - Tamil: தூங்கு
• Translator English - Marathi: झोप
• Translator English - Turkish: uyku
• Translator English - Italian: sonno
• Translator English - Polish: sen
• Translator English - Ukrainian: сон
• Translator English - Romanian: somn
• Translator English - Greek: ύπνος
• Translator English - Afrikaans: slaap
• Translator English - Swedish: sömn
• Translator English - Norwegian: søvn

10 QUOTES WITH «SLEEP»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word sleep.

1

Renata Adler

Idle people are often bored and bored people, unless they sleep a lot, are cruel. It is not accident that boredom and cruelty are great preoccupations in our time.

2

Casey Affleck

You sleep with people all the time that you hate.

3

Edward Albert

In times of life crisis, whether wild fires or smoldering stress, the first thing I do is go back to basics... am I eating right, am I getting enough sleep, am I getting some physical and mental exercise everyday.

4

Namie Amuro

Now, on nights that I can't sleep, I play video games alone until the morning.

5

W. H. Auden

A professor is someone who talks in someone else's sleep.

6

Amelia Barr

Events that are predestined require but little management. They manage themselves. They slip into place while we sleep, and suddenly we are aware that the thing we fear to attempt, is already accomplished.

7

Jacques Barzun

I'll read, and then I'll take naps. When I feel sleep coming on, I give in and don't fight it.

8

Brad Bird

I have three kids and a wife, and any moments that aren't dedicated to working on this film in some way, or family, are immediately reserved for sleep.

9

Sandra Bullock

I will make myself sick on films, just because you want everything to be right. I can't sleep if something hasn't been done or is out of place.

10

Sophia Bush

Your body tells you what it needs, and if you sleep past your alarm on a Saturday morning, it's probably because you need the sleep.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «SLEEP»

Discover the use of sleep in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to sleep and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book

Tells, in verse, what happens when all ninety-nine zillion nine trillion and three creatures in the world go to sleep.

‎1962

Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child: A step-by-step programme ...

Rest is vital to children's health, growth and development. Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child outlines proven strategies that ensure good, healthy sleep for every age.

Marc Weissbluth, 2010

Go the Fuck to Sleep

The #1 New York Times best-seller for parents who live in the real world.

Ricardo Cortes, 2011

Before I Go To Sleep

Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.

S J Watson, 2011

Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep

And if you happen to kill someone while you are sleepwalking, does that count as murder? This book is a tour of the often odd, sometimes disturbing, and always fascinating things that go on in the peculiar world of sleep.

David K. Randall, 2012

Doctor Sleep: A Novel

Stephen King returns to the character and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance and the very special twelve-year-old girl he must save from a ...

Stephen King, 2013

Eat Move Sleep: How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes

Once in a while, a book comes along that changes how you think, feel, and act every day. In Eat Move Sleep, #1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Rath delivers a book that will improve your health for years to come.

Tom Rath, 2013

Sleep

Through a brilliant examination of recent studies of sleep patterns, dreaming, and disorders such as insomnia, J. Allan Hobson reveals that we know about the physical basis of human consciousness and dispels many myths about sleeping.

J. Allan Hobson, 1995

Clinical Sleep Disorders

New chapters in this edition cover dreams, interpretation of the polysomnography report, pediatric surgical management of obstructive sleep apnea, and sleep scoring for both adults and pediatric patients.

Paul R. Carney, Richard B. Berry, James D. Geyer, 2012

Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems

Internationally renowned for its practical advice and concrete solutions, this book is a must-read for every parent who wishes their child could sleep more soundly.

Richard Ferber, 2013

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «SLEEP»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term sleep is used in the context of the following news items.

Sleep important as we age

New research suggests poor sleep may increase people's risk of Alzheimer's disease, by spurring a brain-clogging gunk that in turn further interrupts shut-eye. «New Zealand Herald, Jul 15»

Sleep terrors in early childhood may lead to sleepwalking later

(CNN) Does your little one suffer from sleep terrors? Then get ready to lock the window and doors, because they might soon sleepwalk, too. A study of nearly ... «CNN, May 15»

This Is What's Keeping Teens From Getting Enough Sleep

Up to a third of teens in the U.S. don't get enough sleep each night, and the loss of shut-eye negatively impacts their grades, mental well-being and physical ... «TIME, Feb 15»

Expert Panel Recommends New Sleep Durations

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Sleep Foundation (NSF), along with a multi-disciplinary expert panel, issued its new ... «PR Newswire, Feb 15»

This is What Alcohol Does to Your Sleep

Having a drink before bedtime might make you fall asleep a little faster. But the sleep you get after imbibing may not be so restful, finds a new paper in the ... «TIME, Jan 15»

How E-books May Disrupt Your Sleep

Compared with a printed book, a light-emitting e-book decreased sleepiness, reduced REM sleep (often called dream sleep), and substantially suppressed the ... «New York Times, Dec 14»

Federal Study Finds 55 Percent of Infants Sleep With Soft Bedding …

Their study, published in the journal Pediatrics, is the first to estimate how many infants sleep with potentially hazardous quilts, bean bags, blankets or pillows. «New York Times, Nov 14»

'Before I Go To Sleep' Is An Amnesia Thriller You'll Hope To Forget

The bloodshot eyeball that opens to greet a brand-new day — and I mean brand-new day — in the thriller Before I Go To Sleep belongs to wealthy English ... «NPR, Oct 14»

Watch LeVar Burton Read 'Go the F–k to Sleep'

Samuel Jackson did it for the audiobook, but Reading Rainbow's LeVar Burton's reading of the book “Go the F–k to Sleep” might just be the best. During a recent ... «TIME, Oct 14»

7th Heaven Actress Sarah Goldberg Dies in Her Sleep at 40

“She went to sleep and didn't wake up,” her mother told the Sun-Times. The Chicago-born Goldberg played 7th Heaven's Sarah Glass Camden from 2002 to ... «TIME, Oct 14»