forty winks

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forty winks

/ˌfɔːti ˈwɪŋks/ UK
/ˌfɔɹti ˈwɪŋks/ US
[-ɾi-] US

Rhymes with -ɪŋks

Where it comes from

From forty + winks, possibly referring to a nap supposedly lasting as long as it takes a person to wink (i.e., blink) forty times.

noun

idiomatic, informal, plural, plural only A short sleep, especially when taken during the day; a nap. Near-synonyms: shut-eye, twenty winks; see also Thesaurus:shut-eye
Similar: shut-eye, twenty winks, cark, doss, rest, sleep

Translations

Every language

noun short sleep — see also nap

中文	打盹兒 /打盹儿 dǎdǔnér
Deutsch	eine Mütze Schlaf (voll)
Ελληνικά	σαράντα κλείνει το μάτι saránta kleínei to máti

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MLA

"forty winks." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/forty%20winks. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

forty winks. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/forty%20winks

Chicago

"forty winks." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/forty%20winks.

BibTeX

@misc{forty_winks_2026,
  title = {forty winks},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/forty%20winks},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}