doze
/dəʊz
/verb [no object]
1Sleep lightly: he found his mother dozing by the fire...
- He had asked to be kept updated during the night as he dozed lightly in his room.
- Several police officers sat dozing, lightly interspersed amongst the scuffed and beaten seats.
- She was dozing lightly when there was a nock on her door, jolted from her sleep she went to the door and opened it a crack.
Synonyms
catnap, nap, take a nap, take a siesta, sleep lightly, drowse, rest
informal snooze, have a snooze, snatch forty winks, get some shut-eye
British informal kip, have a kip, get some kip, zizz, have a zizz, get some zizz
North American informal catch some Zs, catch a few Zs
literary slumber
1.1 (doze off) Fall lightly asleep: I dozed off for a few seconds...
- She knew the other two were tired, and let them sprawl on the couch, Mark fell asleep and even Isaac dozed off.
- She felt herself dozing off and was asleep in a few minutes.
- After a few minutes of dozing off, Rebecca falls into a deep sleep.
Synonyms
fall asleep, go to sleep, drop off, get to sleep
informal nod off, go off, drift off, crash out, go out like a light, flake out, conk out
North American informal sack out, zone out
noun
A short, light sleep: ‘I think I’ll have a doze,’ he said, closing his eyes...
- I was in the middle of a light doze (for some reason, deeper sleep was escaping me) when I hear a scraping noise.
- Jon sighed, and leaned back as a light doze overtook him.… Seven years ago, when Dïen was eleven, she started to ask for a psychiatrist.
- Watching the boy toss, turn and slip in and out of a light doze, Laras wondered if he wasn't somehow picking up on his father's tension and frustration in some subtle way.
Synonyms
catnap, nap, siesta, light sleep, drowse, rest
informal snooze, forty winks
British informal kip, zizz
literary slumber
Origin
Mid 17th century (in the sense 'stupefy, bewilder, or make drowsy'): perhaps related to Danish døse 'make drowsy'.