sleeper
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sleeper¹
- /ˈsliːpə(ɹ)/
Rhymes with -iːpə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
From Middle English sleper, equivalent to sleep + -er.
noun sleepers
- Someone who sleeps. I'm a light sleeper: I get woken up by the smallest of sounds.
- That which lies dormant, as a law. Therefore let penal laws, if they have been sleepers of long, or if they be grown unfit for the present time, be by wise judged confined in the execution […]
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A spy, saboteur, or terrorist who lives unobtrusively in a community until activated by a prearranged signal; may be part of a sleeper cell.
We are up against the pros; and pros who have been involved in this kind of activity for many years. […] The public apathy today is disturbing — few realize, Mr. Chairman, that there are sleepers in this country and we know that they are able to manipulate at will behind the scenes.
Similar: sleeper agent
- A small starter earring, worn to prevent a piercing from closing. His skull earring had been replaced by a small gold sleeper. […] Fiona, who also had pierced ears, remarked on his sleeper. “Doesn’t Wilton allow pierced ears?” she asked. “No way!” said Leslie. “Rules about everything. But I wanted to keep my options open, as you might say. No one’s made me take it
- A railway sleeping car. We spent a night on an uncomfortable sleeper between Athens and Vienna.
- A sleeper hold. Detailed floral stripe on sofas, sleepers and loveseats with correlating provincial print on double ruffle trim.
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Something that achieves unexpected success after an interval of time.
A box-office bomb when it first came out, the film was a sleeper, becoming much more popular decades after being released.
Similar: sleeper hit
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Any member of the family Odontobutidae of goby-like bottom-feeding freshwater fish.
Similar: sleeper goby
- A nurse shark (family Ginglymostomatidae).
- A type of pajama for a person, especially a child, that covers the whole body, including the feet. Aaron, Devin, and Laura looked so comfy in their sleepers.
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An automobile which has been internally modified to excess, while retaining a mostly stock appearance in order to fool opponents in a drag race, or to avoid the attention of the police.
Opposite: cop magnet, rice burner, racecar
- A sedative. At least a couple of weeks since I last slept, / Kept takin' sleepers, but now I keep myself pepped.
- A bet placed on the gambling table and then forgotten about by the gambler.
- A pod or similar device containing a person in cryosleep.
verb sleepers · sleepering · sleepered
- To mark a calf by cutting its ear. I expect there ain't a trick to maverickin' and sleeperin' and changin' a brand he don't know.
sleeper²
- /ˈsliːpə(ɹ)/
Rhymes with -iːpə(ɹ)
Where it comes from
Compare Norwegian sleip (“a sleeper (a timber); as adjective, slippery, smooth”). See slape.
noun sleepers
-
A railroad tie.
"There," she said to herself, looking into the shadow of the carriage, at the sand and coal dust which covered the sleepers— "there, in the very middle, and I will punish him and escape from everyone and from myself."
Similar: tie
- A structural beam in a floor running perpendicular to both the joists beneath and floorboards above.
- A heavy floor timber in a ship's bottom.
- The lowest, or bottom, tier of casks.
Sleeper³
proper noun Sleepers
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: slumberer, tie, crosstie, railroad tie, wagon-lit, sleeping car, sleeper goby, sleeping, sleep, resting, heavy, hidden, invisible, house, room, bedroom
Translations
Every language
noun rung on a train track
| Español | durmiente |
|---|
noun someone who sleeps
| Español | dormilón |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 자는 사람 janeun saram |
| Kiswahili | mlalaji |
| Português | dorminhoco, dorminhoca |
| Français | dormeur |
| Deutsch | Schläfer |
| Русский | со́ня sónja |
noun spy, saboteur or terrorist waiting to be activated
| Deutsch | Schläfer |
|---|---|
| Русский | спя́щий аге́нт spjáščij agént, крот krot, диверса́нт diversánt, сабота́жник sabotážnik |
noun type of pajamas that covers the whole body
| Español | pijama con los pies |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Strampelanzug |
noun structural timber in a floor perpendicular to the joists and floorboards
| Deutsch | Lagerholz, Futterholz, Unterlageholz |
|---|
noun structural beam at the bottom of a wall, a roof framework or a similar structure
| Deutsch | Lagerholz, Schwelle, Schwellenholz, Lagerbalken, Fußschwelle, Unterlageholz |
|---|
Talk about this word "sleeper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sleeper. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sleeper. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sleeper "sleeper." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sleeper.Cite this
@misc{sleeper_2026,
title = {sleeper},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sleeper},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
