Dogsleep

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Light or fitful sleep; a nap that is easily interrupted. uncountable

    "This was Gabriel Varden's state as, nodding in his dog sleep, and leaving his horse to pursue a road with which he was well acquainted, he got over the ground unconsciously, and drew nearer and nearer home."

  2. 2
    Feigned sleep. obsolete, uncountable

    "Juvenal, indeed, mentions a drowsy husband, who raised an estate by snoring, but then he is represented to have slept what the common people call dog's sleep"

Example

More examples

"This was Gabriel Varden's state as, nodding in his dog sleep, and leaving his horse to pursue a road with which he was well acquainted, he got over the ground unconsciously, and drew nearer and nearer home."

Etymology

From dog + sleep.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.