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4 phrasal verbs with "Sleep"

4 phrasal verbs with "Sleep"

By Alena Lien, 

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12 April 2021

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Click below to get more information on each phrasal verb.

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Sleep in



-   (informal) To stay in bed later than usual in the morning.


This is inseparable.



  • "I always look forward to sleeping in on the weekends."

  • "He slept in and almost forgot our brunch date."




Preposition: In 

-   Wearing.


Here, we can also use "in" to refer to the clothes someone is wearing when they are sleeping.



  • "I don't understand how some people can just sleep in their birthday suit."

  • "I always look forward to winter so I can sleep in my flannel pyjamas."





Sleep (something) off



-   To recover from something by going to sleep.


This is separable.



  • "If your headache is not too bad, you should sleep it off instead of taking an aspirin."

  • "Can you sleep off a cold?"





Sleep over



-   To sleep in someone else's home for the night.


This is inseparable.



  • "My nephew sleeps over where his father has a late shift."

  • "She slept over at a friend's place because she missed the last train."





Sleep through (something)



-   To sleep without being awakened, usually by loud noise or activity.


This is inseparable.



  • "She slept through the thunderstorm last night."

  • "I think I slept through the entire movie."





Related expressions



"Could do something in your sleep" (idiom) - To say that you can do something very easily because you have done it so many times before.



  • "She's been knitting for as long as I can remember, I'm pretty sure she could do it in her sleep."




"Lose sleep (over something)" (idiom) - To worry about something so much that you cannot sleep.


Although this can be used in the affirmative, it's often used in the negative as advice or to comfort someone.



  • "I know it's your first day at work but there's no point losing sleep over it."




"Sleep on (something)" (expression) - To delay making an important decision until the next day - to have time to consider it carefully.



  • "Why don't you sleep on it and see how you feel?"



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