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
Luckily, summer’s biggest hair color trends are all about giving time back to you for the things that matter most (and sometimes the thing that matters most is taking a nap on the couch). Loren Savini, Allure, 14 May 2026 In the meantime, Quinn’s dad can try to squeeze in a few naps. Sean Gentille, New York Times, 10 May 2026
Verb
The toddler was napping in his bedroom, and Kloss didn’t want to wake him by moving him. Forum News Service, Twin Cities, 18 Apr. 2026 As the story goes, Helou and neighbor Ryan Burke — a tech veteran and fellow dad — dreamed up the concept during playdates, sketching the framework while their kids napped. Sandra Barrera, Oc Register, 17 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for nap
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nap
Noun
  • Dubbed the Velvet Gang, the trio snatches the overpriced, often monochromatic fashion threads designed by Christie Smith (Demi Moore, in a performance of comedic genius), a pretentious piece of work who stations herself in a leaning building (wink, win to San Francisco there).
    Randy Myers, Mercury News, 19 May 2026
  • The wink is included in the message.
    Bethy Squires, Vulture, 17 May 2026
Noun
  • Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the league’s MVP for the second year in a row, is a prodigious wearer of fur coats without irony and sunglasses indoors.
    Ashley Fetters Maloy, Washington Post, 19 May 2026
  • Designers continue to emulate the drama and volume of fur with plastic or plant-based alternatives, stoking desire for the aesthetic, and consumers continue to flip-flop over whether or not fur is acceptable.
    Bella Webb, Vogue, 18 May 2026
Verb
  • Indigenous peoples in the area have been coming there for 1000s of years to soak and take advantage of the waters, and so there’s been a hotel or some manner of resort there since the late eighteen hundreds, welcoming people to come and take the waters and relax and enjoy.
    AFAR Media, AFAR Media, 15 May 2026
  • In Finland, some of the most sincere and open conversations happen inside and between sauna sessions, when everyone is relaxed and stripped of egos, titles and status.
    Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
Verb
  • Jim Cramer is warning investors not to sleep on Microsoft 's ability to stay competitive.
    Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 15 May 2026
  • Special features All interactive Fingerlings have a core set of responses such as blinking, sleeping and tooting.
    BestReviews, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
Noun
  • It’s not calculated to put anxious writers’ minds at rest—most of us already live in fear that our flimsy characters will be exposed through our work.
    David O’Neill, New Yorker, 20 May 2026
  • Instead of eating it immediately after preparing it, letting bean salad rest in the refrigerator allows the flavors to deepen and develop.
    Olivia McIntosh, Martha Stewart, 19 May 2026
Noun
  • That film generated some moody power before collapsing into a pile of surrealist-horror shards.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 20 May 2026
  • Cut it up into its individual paragraphs and then put these pieces of paper in a pile.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 May 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 20 May. 2026.

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