Sleepwalk

verb

verb ·2 syllables ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To walk or perform other actions while sleeping; to somnambulate. intransitive

    "Government... unions... industry... we have had enough. We - no, YOU - are sleepwalking the rest of us towards a less busy, less relevant industry with a smaller workforce, fewer passengers, fading importance, declining investment, poorly-paid jobs, and a truly shambolic reputation."

  2. 2
    walk in one's sleep wordnet
  3. 3
    To perform actions without being aware of them; to do something that invites certain results without confronting that possibility. figuratively, intransitive, transitive

    "The government is sleepwalking into a crisis."

Synonyms

All synonyms
nightwalknightwalkingnoctambulatesleepwalkingsomnambulatesomnambulism

Example

More examples

"I didn't know that it was possible to sleepwalk into the lake and still not wake up."

Etymology

From sleep + walk.

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