A phrasal verb is a phrase that consists of a verb with a preposition (1), adverb (2) or both (3), the meaning of which is different from the meaning of its separate parts. For example:

1. I look after 2 pets.
2. He decided to give up smoking.
3. We have run out of sugar.

Phrasal verbs are worth learning because they make speech more natural and idiomatic when used appropriately, and today, we’d like to teach you 15 phrasal verbs that can add color to your sleep-related conversations. So read on, get some rest, and stay at your best!

To begin with, let us give you a list of phrasal verbs, all of which mean “sleep.” They are not always interchangeable, though; there may be slight differences in meaning and nuances to bear in mind when using these verbs. So read the definitions and example sentences carefully before proceeding to the practical exercise at the end of this article.

Phrasal verb	Meaning	Example
to turn in	to go to bed in the evening	I turned in at 11 o’clock.
to nod off	to fall asleep, especially briefly or unintentionally	I often nod off in front of the TV.
to snooze off	= to nod off	I was so comfortable on the couch that I snoozed off during the movie.
to doze off	to fall into a light sleep, especially during the day	I closed my eyes for a minute and must have dozed off.
to sack out (American slang)	to go to bed	It’s late, so I’m gonna sack out.
to conk out	to go to sleep very quickly	At the end of extremely busy days, I just conk out.
to drift off (to sleep)	to gradually start to sleep	She drifted off while I was still talking.
to sleep in	to remain asleep or in bed later than usual in the morning	I always sleep in on Sundays.
to sleep it off	to recover from something (like fatigue, a hangover, or a stressful situation) by getting some sleep	I drank too much last night; I’m just going to sleep it off.
to sleep through something	to remain asleep despite external disturbances or events happening around you	I slept through the entire fireworks display last night.
to crash out	to fall asleep quickly and deeply, usually due to exhaustion	After the long hike, I crashed out on my bed as soon as I got home.
to lie down	to be or get into a flat position, especially in bed, in order to sleep or rest	Go and lie down for a while.
to sleep over	to stay overnight at someone else’s house or place	Can I sleep over at your house tonight?
to rest up	to take time to rest and recover, often in preparation for a future activity or to recover from exhaustion	You should rest up before the big presentation tomorrow.
to catch up on sleep	to make up for lost sleep or to get additional rest after a period of sleep deprivation	I’m going to catch up on sleep this weekend after staying up late all week.

Phrasal verbs in context

Layla: I know that I sometimes get carried away with my work and exhaust myself with all the frantic activity. On days like these, I sometimes doze off at my desk for a brief moment, but then wake up and carry on with my tasks. In the evening, I often conk out right after dinner or snooze off in front of the TV. I realize I must be too tired by the end of the day, which means something is wrong—I could be working too hard. Fortunately, sleeping in on weekends helps me recharge my batteries. Still, I feel like taking a vacation soon just to rest up. Hopefully, after that, I’ll feel much more refreshed overall and ready to reorganize my day in such a way that I don’t crash out every night.

Can you relate to the story above? What are your sleep patterns like? Try to describe them using the phrasal verbs in the comments below.

More practice

Exercise 1. Click the link here and sort the phrasal verbs based on whether they mean falling asleep quickly or slowly.

Exercise 2. Click the link here and complete the sentences with the right words.

Did you enjoy the article? Be sure to subscribe to our blog so you don’t miss out on more great content like this. Until next time!