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sleep

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Sleep is defined as to slumber, rest or be in a state of inactivity like sleep.

(verb)

An example of sleep is what you do when you go to bed at midnight, close your eyes and rest through the night.

Sleep is the act of slumbering, during which time your body systems refresh themselves.

(noun)

An example of sleep is laying in bed at night with your eyes closed and having no conscious thought for a period of seven or eight hours.

See sleep in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

1. a natural, regularly recurring condition of rest for the body and mind, during which the eyes are usually closed and there is little or no conscious thought or voluntary movement, but there is intermittent dreaming
2. a spell of sleeping
any state of inactivity thought of as like sleep, as death, unconsciousness, hibernation, etc.
Bot. nyctitropism

Origin: ME slep < OE slæp, akin to Ger schlaf, sleep, schlaff, loose, lax < IE *slab < base *(s)leb-, *(s)lab-, loose, slack > lip, limp, L labor, to slip, sink

intransitive verb slept, sleeping

to be in the state of sleep; slumber
to be in a state of inactivity like sleep, as that of death, quiescence, hibernation, inattention, etc.
Informal to have sexual intercourse (with)
Informal to postpone a decision (on) to allow time for deliberation: let me sleep on it
Bot. to assume a nyctitropic position at night, as petals or leaves

transitive verb

to slumber in (a specified kind of sleep): to sleep the sleep of the just
to provide sleeping accommodations for: a boat that sleeps four

See sleep in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. 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.
b. A period of this form of rest.
c. A state of inactivity resembling or suggesting sleep; unconsciousness, dormancy, hibernation, or death.
Botany The folding together of leaflets or petals at night or in the absence of light.
A crust of dried tears or mucus normally forming around the inner rim of the eye during sleep.

verb slept slept (slĕpt), sleep·ing, sleeps

verb, intransitive

To be in the state of sleep or to fall asleep.
To be in a condition resembling sleep.

verb, transitive

To pass or get rid of by sleeping: slept away the day; went home to sleep off the headache.
To provide sleeping accommodations for: This tent sleeps three comfortably.

Phrasal Verbs: sleep around Informal To be sexually active with more than one partner. sleep in To sleep at one's place of employment: a butler and a chauffeur who sleep in.

a. To oversleep: I missed the morning train because I slept in.

b. To sleep late on purpose: After this week's work, I will sleep in on Saturday.

sleep on To think about (something) overnight before deciding. sleep out To sleep at one's own home, not at one's place of employment. To sleep away from one's home. sleep over To spend the night as a guest in another's home. sleep together To have sexual relations. sleep with To have sexual relations with.

Origin:

Origin: Middle English slepe

Origin: , from Old English slǽp; see slēb- in Indo-European roots

See sleep in Ologies

Sleep