slumber

1 of 2

verb

slum·​ber ˈsləm-bər How to pronounce slumber (audio)
slumbered; slumbering ˈsləm-b(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce slumber (audio)

intransitive verb

1
a
: to sleep lightly : doze
b
: sleep
2
a
: to be in a torpid, slothful, or negligent state
b
: to lie dormant or latent
slumberer noun

slumber

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: sleep
b
: a light sleep
2

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
Verb
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 The nuclear nightmares that kept the Cold War generation awake at night – and has been slumbering for decades – might return with a jolt. Fred Weir, The Christian Science Monitor, 2 Nov. 2023
Noun
Rainbow Bear follows the adorable journey of Little Bear, who awakes from his winter's slumber hungry. Sari Hitchins, Parents, 15 Mar. 2024 The additional light slumber may also aid cognition, Sundelin’s results show. Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, Scientific American, 15 Nov. 2023 Not only are the flowers and plant life awakening from their wintertime slumber, so is its wildlife. Susan B. Barnes, Condé Nast Traveler, 29 Feb. 2024 And nocturnal creatures like bats are sure to stir from their daytime slumber. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 26 Feb. 2024 Johnson recalled one pup, Mr. Wigglesworth, got a penalty for excessive slumber on the field. Aliza Chasan, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2024 Our favorite is adorned with colorful bottles of bubbly for a festive slumber. Ellen Fort, Saveur, 8 Feb. 2024 Two years prior, on Jan. 17, 1994, the Northridge earthquake shook her parents’ Porter Ranch home violently, waking her and her family from their slumber. Sean O’Rourke, Los Angeles Times, 26 Jan. 2024 The specter of trauma has long hung over Godzilla, a creature unearthed from slumber by H-bomb testing in the 1954 original. Esther Zuckerman, New York Times, 26 Jan. 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.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English slomren, slombren, frequentative of slumen to doze, probably from slume slumber, from Old English slūma; akin to Middle High German slumen to slumber

First Known Use

Verb

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

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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

Dictionary Entries Near slumber

Cite this Entry

“Slumber.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slumber. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

slumber

1 of 2 verb
slum·​ber ˈsləm-bər How to pronounce slumber (audio)
slumbered; slumbering -b(ə-)riŋ How to pronounce slumber (audio)
1
: to sleep usually lightly
2
: to exist without being active
a slumbering volcano
slumberer noun

slumber

2 of 2 noun

More from Merriam-Webster on slumber

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!