sleep a wink
To sleep at all.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“I did not sleep a wink last night.”
“The loud music from the party next door meant I did not sleep a wink all night.”
“Disturbed by the relentless anxiety of the impending deadline, he tossed and turned until dawn, unable to sleep a wink.”
From Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" Act III Scene IV.
- 01
beauty sleep
Originally, sleep taken before midnight, on the belief that early sleep hours conduce to beauty and health; now (chiefly humorous), sleep at any time needed by one to stay beautiful; (countable) an instance of such sleep.
- 02
big sleep
Death.
- 03
cry oneself to sleep
To cry until or to fall asleep.
- 04
eat, breathe, and sleep
To devote one's time obsessively to.
- 05
eternal sleep
Death
- 06
forty winks
A short sleep, an extra sleep, a nap.
- 07
fox sleep
Feigned sleep while actually alert.
- 08
go to sleep
To be affected by paresthesia; to go numb.
Last updated August 10, 2026