nap
a short sleep, especially during the day
Grandpa usually has/takes a nap after lunch.
Oxford Essential Dictionary
nap
noun
a short sleep that you have during the day:
I had a nap after lunch.
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
nap
I. nap1 /næp/ BrE AmE noun
[Sense 1: Date: 1300-1400; Origin: ⇨ ↑nap2]
[Sense 2: Date: 1400-1500; Language: Middle Dutch; Origin: noppe]
1. [countable] a short sleep, especially during the day
have/take a nap
I usually take a nap after lunch.
an afternoon nap
2. [singular] the soft surface on some cloth and leather, made by brushing the short fine threads or hairs in one direction ⇨ ↑pile1(7)
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ have/take a nap I took a nap after lunch.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + nap
▪ a short/little nap A short nap may make you feel better.
▪ a quick/brief nap I like to have a brief nap in the afternoon.
▪ an afternoon/morning nap She has her afternoon nap at about two.
▪ a two-hour/twenty minute etc nap At age four, she was still having a two-hour nap every day.
▪ a power nap (=a short sleep at work, that gives you more energy and concentration) Try taking a power nap before the meeting.
▪ a catnap (=a very short sleep) I envied her ability to take catnaps at any time of the day.
■ nap + NOUN
▪ nap time You can always tell when it's a baby's nap time because they start getting irritable.
THESAURUS
▪ sleep the natural state of resting your mind and body, when your eyes are closed and you do not notice anything happening around you: I hardly got any sleep at all last night. | He woke suddenly from a deep sleep.
▪ slumber/slumbers literary sleep: She fell into an uneasy slumber. | He awoke from his slumbers.
▪ shut-eye informal especially humorous sleep: I really need to get some shut-eye.
▪ doze a period in which you sleep lightly, especially when you are not in your bed: Edward was so tired he fell into a doze on the settee.
▪ snooze informal a short period when you sleep lightly, especially when you are not in your bed: He decided to have a snooze on the sofa while he was waiting for the others to get ready.
▪ nap a short sleep, especially during the day: He’s taking a nap. | Helen put the baby down for a nap after lunch.
▪ forty winks informal a short sleep, especially during the day: I’m just going to have forty winks. | I felt a lot better after I had had forty winks.
Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
nap
nap [nap naps napped napping] noun, verb [næp] [næp]
noun
1. countable a short sleep, especially during the day
Syn: snooze
• to take/have a nap
compare siesta
see also catnap, power nap
2. singular the short fine threads on the surface of some types of cloth, usually lying in the same direction
3. countable (BrE) advice given by an expert on which horse is most likely to win a race
Word Origin:
n. sense 1 and v. Old English hnappian Germanic
n. sense 2 late Middle English noppe Middle Dutch Middle Low German noppe ‘nap’ noppen ‘trim the nap from’
n. sense 3 early 19th cent. napoleon
Synonyms:
sleep
doze • nap • snooze
These words all mean to rest with your eyes closed and your mind and body not active.
sleep • to rest with your eyes shut and your mind and body not active: ▪ Did you sleep well? ◊ ▪ I couldn't sleep last night.
It is more usual to say that sb is asleep than that they are sleeping; but if you use an adverb to say how they are sleeping, use sleeping: ▪ ‘What's Ashley doing?’ ‘Sh! She's asleep.’ ◊ ▪ The baby was sleeping peacefully. ◊ The baby was asleep peacefully.
doze • to sleep lightly, waking up easily, often when you are not in bed: ▪ He was dozing in front of the TV.
nap • to sleep for a short time, especially during the day.
snooze • (informal) to sleep lightly for a short time, especially during the day and usually not in bed: ▪ My brother was snoozing on the sofa.
to sleep/doze lightly/fitfully
to doze/snooze gently
Example Bank:
• I had a short nap after lunch.
• to have/take a nap
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition
nap / næp / noun [ C ] (SLEEP)
C1 a short sleep, especially during the day:
Grandpa usually has/takes a nap after lunch.
nap / næp / noun [ S ] (CLOTH)
the surface of a piece of cloth such as velvet, consisting of short threads that have been brushed in one direction
© Cambridge University Press 2013
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary
nap
[næ_p]
naps, napping, napped
1) N-COUNT If you have a nap, you have a short sleep, usually during the day.
Use your lunch hour to have a nap in your chair...
I might take a little nap.
Syn:
snooze
2) VERB If you nap, you sleep for a short period of time, usually during the day.
An elderly person may nap during the day and then sleep only five hours a night.
Syn:
doze
3) N-SING The nap of a carpet or of a cloth such as velvet is the top layer of short threads, which usually lie smoothly in one direction.
4) PHRASE: V inflects If someone is caught napping, something happens when they are not prepared for it, although they should have been. [INFORMAL]
The security services were clearly caught napping.
Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary
1nap /ˈnæp/ noun, pl naps [count] : a short period of sleep especially during the day
• She awoke from her nap rested and refreshed.
• You look like you could use a nap.
• He put the baby down for a nap.
• Grandma takes a nap every afternoon.
- compare 3nap
nap
3nap noun, pl naps [count] : a soft layer of threads on the surface of a piece of cloth, a carpet, etc.
- compare 1nap
