sleepier; sleepiest
1
a
: ready to fall asleep
b
: of, relating to, or characteristic of sleep
2
: sluggish as if from sleep : lethargic
also : having little activity
a sleepy coastal village
3
: sleep-inducing
sleepily adverb
sleepiness noun

Examples of sleepy in a Sentence

She felt sleepy and went to bed. the sleepy children were carried up to bed
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Paired with the ensemble of braiders is their unpredictable clientele – a string of characters demonstrating the breadth of the American women filling salon chairs, from party girls to nepo babies and sleepy nurses coming off the night shift. Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025 Even its flavor conjures a deep sleepy forest with woody, spicy and herbaceous notes, and finishes pleasantly bitter. Mackensy Lunsford, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025 In the comments, Susie offered some extra context about the sleepy passenger in the bed, clarifying to another user that the cocker spaniel refusing to budge is actually the mother of the second spaniel walking alongside them. Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 July 2025 Its first season was set in the Pyrenees, the second on the island of Mallorca and the third in a sleepy Andalusian village near the Portuguese border. Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 19 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for sleepy

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of sleepy was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sleepy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sleepy. Accessed 11 Jul. 2025.

Kids Definition

sleepy

adjective
sleepier; sleepiest
1
: ready to fall asleep
2
: quietly inactive
a sleepy village
sleepily adverb
sleepiness noun

Medical Definition

sleepy

adjective
sleepier; sleepiest
: ready to fall asleep
sleepiness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on sleepy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!