sleep and sleeping

3 hit the hay informal to go to bed

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.

II. nap² BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle napped, present participle napping) [intransitive]
[Language: Old English; Origin: hnappian]
1. be caught napping informal to not be ready to deal with something when it happens, although you should be ready for it:
The German team were caught napping and Lampard scored the winning goal.
2. to sleep for a short time during the day

sleep

I. sleep¹ S1 W2 /sliːp/ BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle slept /slept/) [intransitive]
[Word Family: noun: ↑sleep, ↑sleeper, ↑sleepiness, ↑sleeplessness; adjective: ↑asleep, ↑sleepless, ↑sleepy; adverb: ↑sleepily, ↑sleeplessly; verb: ↑sleep]
1. to rest your mind and body, usually at night when you are lying in bed with your eyes closed ⇨ asleep:
I usually sleep on my back.
Did you sleep well?
He’s lucky because at least he has somewhere to sleep.
2. sleep rough British English to sleep outdoors in uncomfortable conditions, especially because you have no money
3. sleep on it spoken to not make a decision about something important until the next day
4. sleep tight spoken said especially to children before they go to bed to say that you hope they sleep well:
Good night, Jenny. Sleep tight!
5. somebody can sleep easy used to say that someone no longer has to worry about something:
Unlike some other Internet sites, when you buy from us, you can sleep easy.
6. sleep two/four/six etc to have enough beds for a particular number of people:
The villa sleeps four.
7. let sleeping dogs lie to deliberately avoid mentioning a subject, so that you do not cause any trouble or argument
8. literary if a village, house etc sleeps, it is very quiet during the night
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ sleep well I haven’t been sleeping well lately.
▪ sleep badly Eleanor slept badly that night.
▪ sleep soundly/deeply (=in a way that means you are not likely to wake) Within seconds, Maggie was sleeping soundly.
▪ sleep peacefully Celia slept peacefully beside him.
▪ sleep uneasily (=not sleep well, because you are worried) That night I slept uneasily, anxious about the meeting the next day.
▪ sleep fitfully literary (=sleep badly, waking up after short periods, especially because you are worried) She slept fitfully, her mind filled with images of Jack’s face.
▪ barely/hardly sleep (=to not sleep well) I’d hardly slept the night before the wedding.
▪ sleep late (=not wake up until late in the morning) She had slept late; it was already eleven.
■ phrases
▪ can’t/couldn’t sleep I went to bed, but I couldn’t sleep.
▪ be unable to sleep He lay down but was unable to sleep.
▪ have trouble sleeping (=to not sleep well) Why do so many elderly people have trouble sleeping?
▪ sleep like a log (also sleep like a baby) informal (=sleep very well) I was exhausted and slept like a log.
▪ not sleep a wink informal (=not sleep at all) I didn’t sleep a wink last night.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ sleep to rest your mind and body with your eyes closed. Sleep is usually used when talking about how long, how deeply, or where someone sleeps. When saying that someone is not awake, you use be asleep: Most people sleep for about eight hours. | He slept downstairs. | Did you sleep well?
▪ be asleep to be sleeping: The baby’s asleep – don’t wake her. | He was fast asleep (=completely asleep)by the time I got home.
▪ oversleep to sleep for longer than you intended so that you wake up late in the morning: I overslept and was late for work.
▪ take a nap (also have a nap especially British English) (also have forty winks informal) to sleep for a short time during the day: I think I’ll have a nap. | She had been awake all night and was looking forward to taking a nap.
▪ have/take a snooze informal to sleep for a short time, especially in a chair, not in a bed: I think I’ll have a quick snooze.
▪ doze to sleep lightly, for example in a chair, and be easily woken: I wasn’t really asleep – I was just dozing. | I must have dozed off (=started sleeping) halfway through the film.
▪ kip British English informal to sleep somewhere, especially somewhere that is not your home – a very informal use: I kipped at my mate’s for a couple of days. | Is it alright if I kip on the floor?
sleep around phrasal verb informal
to have sex with a lot of different people without having a serious relationship with any of them – used to show disapproval
sleep in phrasal verb informal
to let yourself sleep later than usual in the morning:
We usually sleep in on Sunday mornings.
sleep something ↔ off phrasal verb informal
to sleep until you do not feel ill any more, especially after drinking too much alcohol:
He went to his room to sleep it off.
sleep over phrasal verb
to sleep at someone’s house for a night – used especially by children
sleep through phrasal verb
1. sleep through something to sleep while something is happening and not be woken by it:
How did you manage to sleep through that thunderstorm?
2. sleep through (something) to sleep continuously for a long time:
I slept right through till lunchtime.
The baby slept peacefully through the night.
sleep together phrasal verb
if people sleep together, they have sex with each other
sleep with somebody phrasal verb
to have sex with someone, especially someone you are not married to:
Everybody in the office knows he’s been sleeping with Kathy.