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Glite Dictionary
sleeping tablet

sleeping tablet

1 2.8
A small pill that helps you sleep
  • noun
  • /ˈsliːpɪŋ ˈtæblɪt/
translation icon : pastilla para dormir
  • The doctor prescribed a sleeping tablet to help manage my insomnia.

Is it sleeping tablets that causes Alzheimer's or is it the fact that Alzheimer's many, many years before causes changes to our sleep?

Examples

  • This Cape Town-based resident then lost his wife to cystic fibrosis and ended up on antidepressants and sleeping tablets, feeling very sorry for himself.

    Blog text (30)

  • So I stopped using sleeping tablets.

    Blog text (15)

  • So, will you give me some sleeping tablets?

    Another Year (2010)

  • I am now only on sleeping tablets to help me get some rest.

    Blog text (19)

  • The doctor ordered her a sleeping tablet.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if I could borrow a sleeping tablet.

    The War of the Roses (1989)

  • Sleeping tablets won't make it go away.

    Another Year (2010)

  • I now take sleeping tablets, ever since I nearly 'sleep-drove', not that I'm suggesting that's the best thing for a 19-year-old.

    Blog text (34)

  • Also take the medicine, including painkillers, sleeping tablets, antibiotics, and other necessary medicine that you use regularly, as the medicines are very expensive and not with the same names in Saudi Arabia.

    Blog text (13)

  • I took a sleeping tablet before going to bed to ensure I could fall asleep quickly.

Synonyms

sleeping pill
vssleeping tablet
45 2.9

A tablet you take to help you fall asleep

is the same but refers specifically to the common compressed solid form
Ambien
vssleeping tablet
  • Specialized
22 6.7

A prescription medicine that helps people sleep

is a general solid oral sleep medication rather than a single brand product
sleeping draught
vssleeping tablet
  • Archaic
1 8.2

A liquid medicine that makes you sleep

is a solid oral dose rather than a liquid preparation
hypnotic
vssleeping tablet
  • Specialized
1 7.1

A medicine that makes you sleep or helps you stay asleep

is specifically a solid oral dose meant to induce sleep rather than any form
sleeping capsule
vssleeping tablet
3.5

A small pill that you take to help you sleep

is the same but is a firm compressed form rather than a soft casing

Antonyms

stimulant
  • Specialized
27 4.9

A drug that makes the body and mind more active for a short time

How Stimulating

amphetamine
  • NSFW
30 7.2
pep pill
  • Specialized
1 7.5
stimulant drug
  • Specialized
1 4.5
sleeping tablet
1 2.8

Surface Forms

sleeping tablet singular
sleeping tablets plural

Morphology

sleeping + tablet

The meaning 'a pill taken to help induce sleep' is directly and transparently derived from 'sleeping' (relating to sleep) modifying 'tablet' (a pill), i.e. a tablet for sleeping. This noun–noun/ modifier pattern is common and cross-linguistically mirrored (e.g. 'pastilla para dormir'), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Sleeping tablet comes from a simple image: a small flat tablet (a 'pill') used for sleeping, so the name literally shows its purpose — to help someone 'sleep'. So, it means a pill taken to make you rest.