sleeper
sleeper Lexical Profile
sleeper Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A person or animal that sleeps, often described in terms of their sleeping habits or patterns.
"As a remarkably heavy sleeper, he completely slept through the loud thunderstorm that rattled the windows."
A movie, book, or other product that achieves sudden, unexpected success after initially drawing little attention or anticipation.
"The low-budget independent film became a massive summer sleeper, ultimately grossing millions at the box office through word of mouth."
An undercover espionage agent who lives an ordinary life and remains inactive in a target country or organization until given orders to act.
"The intelligence agency spent years hunting for the sleeper who had quietly infiltrated the government department."
Word Nuance & Usage
In British English, 'sleeper' is also commonly used to refer to a wooden or concrete beam laid transversely beneath railway tracks (known as a 'tie' in American English).
• Rhymes for sleeper
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
From Middle English slepere, equivalent to sleep + -er. The meaning of an unexpected success originated in the mid-19th century, originally referring to racehorses that suddenly won after long periods of poor performance.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.