nap 1 of 3

Definition of napnext
as in wink
a short sleep so tired that she needed to take a refreshing nap before soccer practice

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nap

2 of 3

noun (2)

as in fur
a soft airy substance or covering high-quality suede has a good, even nap

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nap

3 of 3

verb

1
as in to relax
to sleep lightly or briefly decided to let the kids nap for a few more minutes before waking them

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2
as in to sleep
to be in a state of sleep I'm just going to nap the entire afternoon

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of nap
Noun
After-dinner naps, family movie nights, greasy hands, and dirty pets can contribute to smelly odors, stains, pet hair, and crumbs and dirt that get stuck along the piping and between the couch cushions. Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 28 May 2026 The Today and Health tabs are getting charts for hourly step goals, as well, and a new 24-hour total sleep overview will show both main sleep and naps. Stevie Bonifield, The Verge, 27 May 2026
Verb
Toast, a goldendoodle, napped in a wagon pulled by her owner Laura Jaworski. Hank Beckman, Chicago Tribune, 1 June 2026 There’s a small, warm body of evidence that some of the most therapeutic sounds on earth may already be napping on your couch, singing outside your window and humming in your backyard. Allison Palmer, Miami Herald, 29 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for nap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nap
Noun
  • And even as Demure took off on TikTok, most women got the side wink.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 June 2026
  • It’s presented without winks or nudges, neither as a joke nor necessarily foolish.
    Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026
Noun
  • Also known as snow monkeys, Japanese macaques, native to Japan, have a thick, lush fur coat that is adapted to cold climates, according to New England Primate Conservancy.
    Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 8 June 2026
  • Hruskova appeared in her own video, flawlessly made up in a fur-collared coat.
    Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
Verb
  • Richards, who began relaxing her hair at 13-years-old, echoes this.
    Annie Blay-Tettey, Allure, 29 May 2026
  • The important thing with knowing the danger is to accept it and relax.
    Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 29 May 2026
Verb
  • High-end foundations get all the hype, but don’t sleep on the best drugstore foundations for mature skin.
    Jenny Berg, Glamour, 29 May 2026
  • The attacker on your network may not pause to sleep, strategize, or second-guess.
    Philip Martin, Fortune, 29 May 2026
Noun
  • Andersen didn’t dress in Game 4 and was listed as a healthy scratch; Brind’Amour said after the game that Andersen, who’d played every minute of the postseason until Game 3, needed a rest.
    Michael Russo, New York Times, 10 June 2026
  • The Valkyries signed the 6-foot-4, former Stanford standout to a rest-of-season contract on Sunday, also waiving forward Ndjakalenga Mwenentanda in a corresponding move.
    Nathan Canilao, Mercury News, 10 June 2026
Noun
  • If some, over that last 78 years, were able to look away before, where can one look now when rubble piles up in every direction?
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
  • America’s emergency pile of crude, the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, is rapidly heading toward the lowest level since the early 1980s.
    Matt Egan, CNN Money, 9 June 2026
Verb
  • But the nannies had to get up in the night at the sound of my shrieks while my parents slumbered with ear-plugs in.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Apr. 2026
  • And amazingly, photographs of them have been slumbering in archives or circulating unidentified for almost a century.
    Glenn Kurtz, Time, 28 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Our thought was probably somebody was going to just want to come in and doze it all down and do something different.
    Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 10 Feb. 2026
  • By the evening’s end, I was cuddled up on the couch in a pile of kids, a movie playing while the little ones started to doze.
    Monitor Contributors, Christian Science Monitor, 26 Nov. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Nap.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nap. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.

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