Sleeper
['sliːpə] or ['slipɚ]
Definition
(noun.) an unexpected hit; 'that movie was the sleeper of the summer'.
(noun.) tropical fish that resembles a goby and rests quietly on the bottom in shallow water.
(noun.) a piece of furniture that can be opened up into a bed.
(noun.) pajamas with feet; worn by children.
(noun.) a rester who is sleeping.
(noun.) an unexpected achiever of success; 'the winner was a true sleeper--no one expected him to get it'.
(noun.) 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.
Editor: Seth--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) One who sleeps; a slumberer; hence, a drone, or lazy person.
(n.) That which lies dormant, as a law.
(n.) A sleeping car.
(n.) An animal that hibernates, as the bear.
(n.) A large fresh-water gobioid fish (Eleotris dormatrix).
(n.) A nurse shark. See under Nurse.
(n.) Something lying in a reclining posture or position.
(n.) One of the pieces of timber, stone, or iron, on or near the level of the ground, for the support of some superstructure, to steady framework, to keep in place the rails of a railway, etc.; a stringpiece.
(n.) One of the joists, or roughly shaped timbers, laid directly upon the ground, to receive the flooring of the ground story.
(n.) One of the knees which connect the transoms to the after timbers on the ship's quarter.
(n.) The lowest, or bottom, tier of casks.
Inputed by DeWitt
Examples
- The sleeper moving an arm, he sat down again in his chair, and feigned to watch the storm from the window. Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- I was a light sleeper; in the dead of night I suddenly awoke. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Fagin made no answer, but bending over the sleeper again, hauled him into a sitting posture. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
- The door closed on Gerty, and he stood alone with the motionless sleeper on the bed. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- I am a light sleeper, and it has awakened me. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- She was a bad sleeper, and wanted, or thought she wanted, many things at night. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
- Stealthily I approached the nearest sleeper. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- I began to lose the identity of the sleeper resting on me. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- He touched the bed, he could hear the sleeper. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- A dream, all a dream, that ends in nothing, and leaves the sleeper where he lay down, but I wish you to know that you inspired it. Charles Dickens. A Tale of Two Cities.
- Look at them, glancing at the sleepers on the ground. Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- They had heard nothing during the night, for they are both sound sleepers. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- To supply this number of sleepers, 300,000 trees were felled, the growth of which would require little less than 5,000 acres of forest land. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- We shall rouse up that nest of sleepers, mark my words! Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- The sleepers were laid upon the natural grade, and there was comparatively no effort made to ballast the road. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- Upon hearing the sound of feet approaching, the watch instantly gave the alarm, and the sleepers as suddenly started up and bent their bows. Walter Scott. Ivanhoe.
- These iron plates were usually cast in lengths of six feet, and they were secured to transverse wooden sleepers by spikes and oaken pegs. Frederick C. Bakewell. Great Facts.
- They say that away down in the village, and even in the distant parsonage, that cry raised the sleepers from their beds. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Either they were wondrous heavy sleepers or else the noises that I made were really much less than they seemed to me. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- Such is the story of the Seven Sleepers, (with slight variations,) and I know it is true, because I have seen the cave myself. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
Checker: Nicole