napping

22 6.8

Not paying attention and easily surprised by danger or chance

adjective
/ˈnæpɪŋ/

Informal

: desprevenido

The thief broke in while the security guard was napping and not paying attention to the monitors.

Like Lee Murray was a force if obviously don't forget to stab him napping as well.

Examples

He was caught napping during the meeting.
Their rivals took advantage of the team being napping and scored a surprise goal.
If you don't stay focused in this job, you might be napping when a key opportunity arises.
Don't get caught napping!
If you are napping on the job, you might miss an important announcement.
The coach warned the players not to be napping during the game, as the opponent could score.
The soldier felt he was napping when the enemy launched their surprise attack.

Synonyms

asleep

vsnapping

471 1.0

Become not awake

is unprepared in a general way rather than physically inactive

off your guard

vsnapping

1 7.2

Not ready and not paying attention when something surprises you

is broader, covering not being alert to either danger or opportunity

Antonyms

prepared

∞ 1.3

Ready to use or do something when needed

alert

135 3.5

A state of being ready and watchful for possible danger

Idioms

to catch someone napping

Informal

1 6.8

Notice someone being careless when they should be paying attention

to catch (someone) napping

1 7.5

To find someone not ready or not paying attention

How Alert

vigilant

71 6.0

attentive

56 3.0

inattentive

5 5.3

napping

Informal

22 6.8

drowsy

22 2.7

asleep

589 1.0

Surface Forms

napping positive

Morphology

napping = nap (semi-transparent) = nap + ing

The adjective derives from 'nap' + '-ing' (sleeping), but the sense 'off guard' is a figurative extension rather than a strictly literal state of sleeping.

Etymology

Napping comes from the word nap, which means 'short sleep'. Think of a person who takes a quick sleep and misses a chance—so if someone is napping they are not ready or alert and can be easily surprised.