Definition of Sleep

1. Noun. A natural and periodic state of rest during which consciousness of the world is suspended. "Calm as a child in dreamless slumber"


2. Verb. Be asleep. "Sam and Sue sleep"

3. Noun. A torpid state resembling deep sleep.

4. Verb. Be able to accommodate for sleeping. ; "This tent sleeps six people"
Generic synonyms: Accommodate, Admit, Hold
Derivative terms: Sleeper, Sleeper

5. Noun. A period of time spent sleeping. "There wasn't time for a nap"
Exact synonyms: Nap
Generic synonyms: Period, Period Of Time, Time Period
Specialized synonyms: Beauty Sleep, Kip
Derivative terms: Nap

6. Noun. Euphemisms for death (based on an analogy between lying in a bed and in a tomb). "They had to put their family pet to sleep"
Exact synonyms: Eternal Rest, Eternal Sleep, Quietus, Rest
Generic synonyms: Death

Definition of Sleep

1. v. i. To take rest by a suspension of the voluntary exercise of the powers of the body and mind, and an apathy of the organs of sense; to slumber.

2. v. t. To be slumbering in; -- followed by a cognate object; as, to sleep a dreamless sleep.

3. n. A natural and healthy, but temporary and periodical, suspension of the functions of the organs of sense, as well as of those of the voluntary and rational soul; that state of the animal in which there is a lessened acuteness of sensory perception, a confusion of ideas, and a loss of mental control, followed by a more or less unconscious state.

Definition of Sleep

1. Noun. The state of reduced consciousness during which a human or animal rests in a daily rhythm. ¹

2. Noun. (countable informal) An act or instance of sleeping. ¹

3. Noun. Rheum found in the corner of the eyes after waking, whether real or a figurative objectification of sleep (in the sense of ''reduced consciousness''). ¹

4. Verb. (intransitive) To rest in a state of reduced consciousness. ¹

5. Verb. (intransitive) (Of a spinning top) to spin on its axis with no other perceptible motion. ¹

6. Verb. (transitive) To accommodate in beds. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Sleep

1. to be in a natural, periodic state of rest [v SLEPT, SLEEPING, SLEEPS]

Medical Definition of Sleep

1. A natural and healthy, but temporary and periodical, suspension of the functions of the organs of sense, as well as of those of the voluntary and rational soul; that state of the animal in which there is a lessened acuteness of sensory perception, a confusion of ideas, and a loss of mental control, followed by a more or less unconscious state. "A man that waketh of his sleep." "O sleep, thou ape of death." (Shak) Sleep is attended by a relaxation of the muscles, and the absence of voluntary activity for any rational objects or purpose. The pulse is slower, the respiratory movements fewer in number but more profound, and there is less blood in the cerebral vessels. It is susceptible of greater or less intensity or completeness in its control of the powers. Sleep of plants, a state of plants, usually at night, when their leaflets approach each other, and the flowers close and droop, or are covered by the folded leaves. Synonym: Slumber, repose, rest, nap, doze, drowse. Origin: AS. Slp; akin to OFries. Slp, OS. Slap, D. Slaap, OHG. Slaf, G. Schlaf, Goth. Slps. See Sleep. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Sleep

sleekening
sleekens
sleeker
sleekers
sleekest
sleekier
sleekiest
sleeking
sleekings
sleekit
sleekly
sleekness
sleeknesses
sleeks
sleeky
sleep (current term)
sleep-at-noon
sleep-debt
sleep-induced apnea
sleep-learning
sleep apnea
sleep apnea syndrome
sleep apnea syndromes
sleep apnoea
sleep debt
sleep deprivation
sleep disorder
sleep disorders
sleep dissociation

Literary usage of Sleep

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. Psychology: General Introduction by Charles Hubbard Judd (1907)
"There are many conditions of fat igue in which the nervous system shows before sleep sets in, more or less of a tendency to resist external stimulation. ..."

2. Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Horace Howard Furness (1873)
"Still it cried ' sleep no more!' to all the house: ' Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor Shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more. ..."

3. Psychology, General Introduction by Charles Hubbard Judd (1917)
"sleep, the influence of drugs, hypnosis, and insanity as forms of ... First, there is in sleep a form of normal suspension of central nervous activity which ..."

4. Psychology, General Introduction by Charles Hubbard Judd (1917)
"sleep, the influence of drugs, hypnosis, and insanity as forms of disorganization. ... First, there is in sleep » a form of normal suspension of central ..."

5. Psychology, General Introduction by Charles Hubbard Judd (1917)
"sleep, the influence of drugs, hypnosis, and insanity as forms of ... First, there is in sleep a form of normal suspension of central nervous activity which ..."

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