asleep

/əˈsliːp/

in a state of sleep

She was fast asleep when the baby started crying.

She was deeply asleep when the baby woke up.

formal

in a state of sleep; not awake

The cat was curled up asleep on the couch.

The cat was sleeping peacefully on the couch.

He fell asleep during the movie.

He dozed off while watching the film.

Can be used both literally and figuratively to describe a state of rest or inactivity.

Collocations

fall asleepto start sleepingasleep at the wheelnot paying attention to something important

not paying attention to something important

'Asleep' is often used with 'fall' (fall asleep) or 'be' (be asleep).

From Middle English 'aslepen', from Old English 'on slæpe' (on sleep).

Often used in continuous tenses (e.g., 'is asleep', 'was asleep') to describe a state of sleep.

in a state of

prefix

sleep

the state of resting with closed eyes

root

English Dictionary