slumbered; slumbering
ˈsləm-b(ə-)riŋ 
2
a
: to be in a torpid, slothful, or negligent state
b
: to lie dormant or latent
Synonyms
Examples of slumber in a Sentence
Verb
she slumbered for hours while the train rolled on
slumbering restlessly in the tropical heat
Noun
She fell into deep slumber.
a toddler looking so innocent and peaceful in slumber
Recent Examples on the Web
Richard Katz, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2024
The slumbering dragon awakened to the delight of hundreds as firecrackers exploded, cymbals clashed, and the percussive beat of drums reverberated throughout San Francisco’s Portsmouth Square.
—Ella Polak, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
Best Picture Up Oppenheimer The season’s slumbering colossus finally woke up.
—Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024
Neuroscientist Melanie Furrer of the University of Zurich and colleagues suspected that reindeer might simply sleep less during the short season, and then catch up on their Zs by slumbering away during the winter.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Dec. 2023
All around me in the sultry darkness of a beautiful resort, many of the US intelligence community’s finest minds were also slumbering.
—Tamsin Shaw, The New York Review of Books, 18 Jan. 2024
The digger void is at the bottom of the silo where the drill that first dug the hole was left to slumber once its job was complete.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 19 Nov. 2023
In some cases, sleepers can even get into their cars and drive while technically still slumbering.
—Steve Nadis, Discover Magazine, 26 Nov. 2023
The public offerings of Arm Holdings, Instacart and Klaviyo were expected to deliver a big boost to the slumbering IPO market in September.
—Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2023
Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Apr. 2024
Ishido sends assassins to kidnap Mariko, breaking the couple's slumber and leading to a tragic end.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024
All these steps regulate her circadian rhythms and promote restful slumber.
—Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 27 Mar. 2024
Before sensing that he’s being called to arms, Godzilla hibernates in the historic Colosseum in Rome, Italy, and Wingard went back and forth with his production designer, Tom Hammock, on how to portray the King of the Monsters’ slumber.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Mar. 2024
Notably, the most prominent object on that nightstand isn’t a book but an iPhone, whose alarm goes off at 5:50 A.M., jolting Angela out of a few hours’ slumber and into the pitiless glare of a new day.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2024
When the corpse stirred for the second time, Allan was just coming out of a fog of his last slumber.
—Hazlitt, 13 Mar. 2024
Oprah is a longtime fan of Cozy Earth’s home goods and loungewear — so don’t miss the 20 percent markdown on these ultra comfy pajamas that’ll be a go-to for spring and summer slumbers.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
This true medium-firm Temper-Cloud Mattress from Tempur-Pedic has motion isolation so nothing will interrupt your slumber.
—Sarah Madaus, Allure, 14 Mar. 2024
Verb
Without a critical mass of successful new companies, the economy will continue to slumber, living standards will deteriorate, and voters could eventually unseat the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party, just as in 2009 when the party temporarily lost power in a landslide defeat.
—Richard Katz, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2024
The slumbering dragon awakened to the delight of hundreds as firecrackers exploded, cymbals clashed, and the percussive beat of drums reverberated throughout San Francisco’s Portsmouth Square.
—Ella Polak, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
Best Picture Up Oppenheimer The season’s slumbering colossus finally woke up.
—Vulture, 12 Jan. 2024
Neuroscientist Melanie Furrer of the University of Zurich and colleagues suspected that reindeer might simply sleep less during the short season, and then catch up on their Zs by slumbering away during the winter.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Dec. 2023
All around me in the sultry darkness of a beautiful resort, many of the US intelligence community’s finest minds were also slumbering.
—Tamsin Shaw, The New York Review of Books, 18 Jan. 2024
The digger void is at the bottom of the silo where the drill that first dug the hole was left to slumber once its job was complete.
—Hunter Ingram, Variety, 19 Nov. 2023
In some cases, sleepers can even get into their cars and drive while technically still slumbering.
—Steve Nadis, Discover Magazine, 26 Nov. 2023
The public offerings of Arm Holdings, Instacart and Klaviyo were expected to deliver a big boost to the slumbering IPO market in September.
—Luisa Beltran, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2023
Noun
Such an event is called a nova—a rapid increase in the brightness of a white dwarf that reignites after years of slumber.
—Will Sullivan, Smithsonian Magazine, 19 Apr. 2024
Ishido sends assassins to kidnap Mariko, breaking the couple's slumber and leading to a tragic end.
—Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024
All these steps regulate her circadian rhythms and promote restful slumber.
—Cindy Kuzma, SELF, 27 Mar. 2024
Before sensing that he’s being called to arms, Godzilla hibernates in the historic Colosseum in Rome, Italy, and Wingard went back and forth with his production designer, Tom Hammock, on how to portray the King of the Monsters’ slumber.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 26 Mar. 2024
Notably, the most prominent object on that nightstand isn’t a book but an iPhone, whose alarm goes off at 5:50 A.M., jolting Angela out of a few hours’ slumber and into the pitiless glare of a new day.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2024
When the corpse stirred for the second time, Allan was just coming out of a fog of his last slumber.
—Hazlitt, 13 Mar. 2024
Oprah is a longtime fan of Cozy Earth’s home goods and loungewear — so don’t miss the 20 percent markdown on these ultra comfy pajamas that’ll be a go-to for spring and summer slumbers.
—Clara McMahon, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
This true medium-firm Temper-Cloud Mattress from Tempur-Pedic has motion isolation so nothing will interrupt your slumber.
—Sarah Madaus, Allure, 14 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'slumber.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near slumber
Cite this Entry
“Slumber.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slumber. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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