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Glite Dictionary
😴 A dozing person 👍 A yes-person
nodder

nodder

8.0
A person who falls asleep for a short time without meaning to
  • noun
  • /ˈnɑːdər/
  • Informal
translation icon : dormilón
  • During the lecture, several students were nodders, briefly dozing off as the professor spoke.

Examples

  • Additionally, as you already have the timing device ("dead man's handle") to keep us nodders awake every now and then, please utilize that to insert another ad on every station change, provided it is more than one hour since the last ad!

    Blog text (12)

  • Seated next to the nodder was a mesmerized-looking fellow who looked very familiar, frantically typing notes into his laptop.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • He noticed a nodder sleeping on the couch during the movie marathon.

  • Many nodders can be found in meetings where the topics are quite dull and repetitive.

Synonyms

sleeper
vsnodder
25 1.0

A person who is not awake

is about briefly dozing off unintentionally rather than general sleeping
slumberer
vsnodder
6.8

A person who is asleep

is about briefly dozing off unintentionally rather than continuous sleep

Antonyms

insomniac
8 7.4

A person who often cannot sleep at night

How Sleepy

narcoleptic
  • Specialized
4 8.7
nodder
  • Informal
8.0
sleepyhead
  • Informal
18 4.1

Surface Forms

nodder singular
nodders plural

Morphology

nodder = nod (semi-transparent) = nod + er

Derived from 'nod' often via the phrasal sense 'nod off' meaning 'doze', so learners who know only 'nod' may not infer 'doze' without knowing the phrasal verb.

Etymology

Nodder comes from the verb nod 'to move your head up and down' and the ending -er 'one who'. When people begin to fall asleep their head often gives a quick nod, so a nodder is someone who dozes off for a short time.