sleepwalk

verb

sleep·​walk ˈslēp-ˌwȯk How to pronounce sleepwalk (audio)
sleepwalked; sleepwalking; sleepwalks

intransitive verb

1
: to walk while or as if while asleep
2
: to proceed in a passive often lethargic manner
sleepwalked through the workday
sleepwalk noun
sleepwalker noun

Examples of sleepwalk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Too many Americans are in the dark about Trump’s plans and, unless things change in the way the press reports on both Trump and Joe Biden, the nation could sleepwalk into fascism without ever waking up. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 12 Mar. 2024 Jake Gyllenhaal stars as Donnie, a psychologically troubled teenager who meets a mysterious figure in a creepy rabbit costume named Frank while sleepwalking one night. Jennifer Ouellette and Sean M. Carroll, Ars Technica, 24 Nov. 2023 Shortly thereafter, the prone-to sleepwalking Lorna wakes up after a night of drinking and bad behavior and finds a body of a woman in her house. Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2024 The average viewer is unlikely to see himself in the figure of a death-camp C.E.O., but a family that sleepwalks through their own lives, heedless of the suffering that surrounds them, may feel closer to home. Giles Harvey, New York Times, 19 Dec. 2023 The new year sees China entering a pivotal period as policymakers try to boost growth, stabilize a crisis in the property market and prevent the world’s second-largest economy from sleepwalking into deflation. Bloomberg, Fortune Asia, 31 Dec. 2023 Although the coroner concluded the death was a suicide, Cramer Bornemann learned that the son had a history of sleepwalking and was able to have the ruling amended. Steve Nadis, Discover Magazine, 26 Nov. 2023 So, also giving a fairly straight assessment is Liz Cheney, the former congresswoman who just did an interview with my colleague John Dickerson and told him, the United States is sleepwalking into a dictatorship. CBS News, 3 Dec. 2023 Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves. Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 23 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sleepwalk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sleepwalk was in 1842

Dictionary Entries Near sleepwalk

Cite this Entry

“Sleepwalk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sleepwalk. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sleepwalk

verb
sleep·​walk ˈslēp-ˌwȯk How to pronounce sleepwalk (audio)
: to walk while or as if while asleep
sleepwalker noun

More from Merriam-Webster on sleepwalk

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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