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.
In a video shared by A Dog's Hideaway, another golden called Butters was equally sleepy after hours of fun at day care. Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025 Alice finds herself on the sleepy Little Crescent Island, hoping to interview mysterious heiress Margaret Ives. Maya Layne, Vogue, 22 Apr. 2025 His dad was a stiff-upper-lip kind of guy, and Clint became known as the stoic kid with the sleepy brown eyes. Jenni Carlson, USA Today, 19 Apr. 2025 One year out from Randall’s accident, Staten’s barely starting to get out from under his grief, with the patient and persistent support of Quinn (Minka Kelly), his late wife’s best friend and the owner of what appears to be the only bar in the sleepy Texan town of Ransom Canyon. Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 17 Apr. 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 1 May. 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!