What does "sleeper" mean?
Someone who sleeps.
Sleeper
/ˈsliːpə(ɹ)/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Someone who sleeps.
- Grammar: sleeper is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: railroad tie, alcohol, amobarbital sodium, amytal.
- Useful contrasts: active cell, awake person, blockbuster.
- Usage evidence: As one grows old, one becomes a light sleeper.
How to use "sleeper"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sleeper" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sleeper" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sleeper" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sleeper" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sleeper" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "railroad tie" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sleeper", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Someone who sleeps.
"I'm a light sleeper: I get woken up by the smallest of sounds."
- 2 A railroad tie. British
"The train, minus the three abandoned trucks, again proceeded at a slow pace, with a pump trolley doing pilot ahead ; this was very necessary as a great many sleepers were found to have been burnt underneath the fishplates."
- 3 an unexpected hit wordnet
- 4 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 […]"
- 5 A structural beam in a floor running perpendicular to both the joists beneath and floorboards above.
Show 22 more definitions
- 6 tropical fish that resembles a goby and rests quietly on the bottom in shallow water wordnet
- 7 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."
- 8 A heavy floor timber in a ship's bottom.
- 9 a piece of furniture that can be opened up into a bed wordnet
- 10 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 out yet. […]”"
- 11 The lowest, or bottom, tier of casks.
- 12 pajamas with feet; worn by children wordnet
- 13 A railway sleeping car.
"We spent a night on an uncomfortable sleeper between Athens and Vienna."
- 14 a passenger car that has berths for sleeping wordnet
- 15 A sleeper hold.
- 16 one of the cross braces that support the rails on a railway track wordnet
- 17 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."
- 18 a rester who is sleeping wordnet
- 19 Any of family Odontobutidae of goby-like bottom-feeding freshwater fish.
- 20 an unexpected achiever of success wordnet
- 21 A nurse shark (family Ginglymostomatidae).
- 22 a spy or saboteur or terrorist planted in an enemy country who lives there as a law-abiding citizen until activated by a prearranged signal wordnet
- 23 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."
- 24 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. slang
- 25 A sedative. slang
"At least a couple of weeks since I last slept, / Kept takin' sleepers, but now I keep myself pepped."
- 26 A bet placed on the gambling table and then forgotten about by the gambler. slang
- 27 A pod or similar device containing a person in cryosleep.
Verb
- 1 To mark a calf by cutting its ear. rare
"I expect there ain't a trick to maverickin' and sleeperin' and changin' a brand he don't know."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"As one grows old, one becomes a light sleeper."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sleeper"?
Common synonyms include: railroad tie, alcohol, amobarbital sodium, amytal, amytal pill, analgesic.
How do you use "sleeper" in a sentence?
As one grows old, one becomes a light sleeper.
How do you pronounce "sleeper"?
Pronounced /ˈsliːpə(ɹ)/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English sleper, equivalent to sleep + -er.
Etymology 2
Compare Norwegian sleip (“a sleeper (a timber); as adjective, slippery, smooth”). See slape.