What does asleep mean?
Word: Asleep
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Asleep means sleeping at the moment.
Synonyms: sleeping, dozing
How do you spell asleep?
Syllables: a - sleep
Tricky part: The middle needs ee, as in sleep, not ea.
Watch out for: asleap, asleip
Memory tip: The two e's in the middle look like a pair of closed eyes.
Idioms and Phrases
- asleep at the wheel: Not paying attention to a job you are supposed to be doing. Example: "The goalkeeper was asleep at the wheel, and the ball rolled slowly past him."
Asleep in a sentence
Example 1: The baby was asleep in the car before we reached Grandma's house.
Example 2: Grandpa was still asleep when the milkman rang the bell.
Example 3: Our dog is asleep in the sun on the balcony.
Fun Fact
When people say a foot is 'asleep', it has gone numb because something pressed on a nerve; the pins and needles begin as the nerve recovers.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word: asleep
a) sleepy
b) awake
c) resting
d) quiet
Show answer
b) awake. Awake means not sleeping at all.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) nightmear
b) asleep
c) comfortible
d) pillo
Show answer
b) asleep. Asleep is spelt right; comfortable ends in able, nightmare ends in mare and pillow ends in ow.
Word Cookie
Find the extra letter in the word:
asleepp
a) e
b) s
c) l
d) p
Show answer
d) p. Like keep and deep, the word closes on a single p.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
My little cousin was assleep before Papa finished the bedtime story.
a) finished
b) bedtime
c) cousin
d) assleep
Show answer
d) assleep. Only one s follows the a at the start.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sentence is correct?
a) The puppy was fast asleep in its basket.
b) The puppy asleeped in its basket.
c) The puppy was asleeping in its basket.
d) The asleep puppy lay in its basket.
Show answer
a) The puppy was fast asleep in its basket.
2. How can you tell that Grandpa is asleep in his chair?
a) He is snoring softly with his eyes shut.
b) He is reading the paper with his glasses on.
c) He is tapping his foot to the radio.
d) He is humming an old song to himself.
Show answer
a) He is snoring softly with his eyes shut.
