asleep
a‧sleep S2 /əˈsliːp/
adjective [not before noun]
OPP awake:
Quiet! The baby’s asleep.
fast/sound asleep (=sleeping deeply)
2. fall asleep
a. to begin to sleep:
Grandad fell asleep watching TV.
One in seven road accidents is caused by drivers falling asleep at the wheel (=falling asleep while driving).
b. literary used to mean that someone dies, when you want to avoid saying this directly
3. half asleep very tired or not completely awake:
Still half asleep, Jenny began to make the kids’ breakfast.
4. an arm or leg that is asleep has been in one position for too long, so you cannot feel it properly
5. asleep at the wheel/switch not paying attention to a situation, so that something bad happens:
Several publishers were asleep at the switch, and missed the book’s potential.
⇨ go to sleep at sleep2(3)
a‧sleep S2 /əˈsliːp/
adjective [not before noun] Word Family: noun: sleep, sleeper, sleepiness, sleeplessness; adjective: asleep, sleepless, sleepy; adverb: sleepily, sleeplessly; verb: sleep
1. sleeping OPP awake:
fast/sound asleep (=sleeping deeply)
2. fall asleep
a. to begin to sleep:
b. literary used to mean that someone dies, when you want to avoid saying this directly
3. half asleep very tired or not completely awake:
4. an arm or leg that is asleep has been in one position for too long, so you cannot feel it properly
5. asleep at the wheel/switch not paying attention to a situation, so that something bad happens:
⇨ go to sleep at sleep2(3)