sleeper
1
6.3
- noun
- /ˈsliːpər/
- UK
:
traviesa
- Their territory was a concrete peninsula, stretching out amidst the converging rails to that neglected part of the station where, in summer, wild lupine sprang up between the sleepers.
- nail the sleepers
- sleeper and plate
Let's wrap these sleepers up, you know, so we know that they're not going to be a problem.
- Let's wrap these sleepers up, you know, so we know that they're not going to be a problem.
Examples
-
The well was usually covered with railway sleepers, but I had left it open because I was about to start work renovating the mouth.
Fiction book (2002) -
The workers replaced old wooden sleepers with new concrete ones to improve track stability.
-
The sleepers pin down the rail and the ballast locks the sleepers in place.
-
As we walked along the train tracks, we noticed several sleepers supporting the rails beneath us.
-
The railway construction crew installed new sleepers to ensure safe and smooth train travel.
Synonyms
12
7.9
A strong beam placed across a building to stop parts moving apart
2
4.1
A heavy wooden or concrete beam laid across railway tracks to hold rails in place
A heavy wooden or concrete beam that lies across railroad tracks to hold the rails in place
Compounds
- Specialized
A hidden program in a computer network that stays inactive until activated to do harm
- NSFW
A hidden group of people who stay inactive until they get orders to do illegal or violent acts
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Sleeper for the beam under railway tracks comes from the root sleep 'to rest'. A helpful way to remember it is to think of the beam as 'lying' under the rails like it is sleeping while it holds them in place.