sleepwalk

sleepwalk — verb

1. to leave your bed and walk about while still in a sleeping state, typically with

1.verbintransitiveB2
Definition

to leave your bed and walk about while still in a sleeping state, typically without any memory of the event the following morning

Example

Bao started to sleepwalk after he began taking the new medication.

use with 'start to' and 'after' to describe when sleepwalking began

Nala's younger brother once sleepwalked into the living room and turned on the television.

Common collocations
  • sleepwalk into [room/furniture]
  • sleepwalk around the house
  • sleepwalk down the stairs
  • sleepwalk at night
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

sleepwalk + prepositional phrase (into / around / down)

Usage Note

Subject is most often a child or a person with a sleep disorder. The person typically has no memory of sleepwalking afterward. Frequent in medical and parenting contexts.

Common Mistakes

I sleepwalked to school this morning.
I walked to school half asleep this morning.
sleepwalking is an unconscious state that happens during actual sleep, not just when you are very tired.

2. to go through your daily activities in a dull, unthinking way, without paying at

2.verbintransitiveC1
Definition

to go through your daily activities in a dull, unthinking way, without paying attention to what is happening around you or thinking about your own goals

Example

After several night shifts, Felipe felt he was sleepwalking through his daily routine.

figurative use: 'sleepwalk through [noun phrase]'

Students who sleepwalk through class rarely remember what the teacher said afterward.

Common collocations
  • sleepwalk through life
  • sleepwalk through the day
  • sleepwalk through a meeting
  • sleepwalk through a routine
Synonyms
  • go through the motions

    more common idiom, implies doing something mechanically without real engagement

  • coast

    suggests moving along with minimal effort, not necessarily in a daze

  • zone out

    less formal, implies temporary inattention rather than a sustained state

Antonyms
  • engage

    to participate actively and attentively

  • pay attention

    to focus one's mind on what is happening

Grammar Patterns

sleepwalk through + noun phrase (life / day / routine / meeting)

Usage Note

Always figurative. Must be followed by 'through' when the object is stated: sleepwalk through [something]. Common in informal speech about burnout, boredom, or lack of motivation.

Common Mistakes

He sleepwalked the meeting.
He sleepwalked through the meeting.
without 'through', the sentence sounds like he literally walked while asleep during the meeting.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

'Sleepwalk' is the everyday word for wandering around while asleep — a child might sleepwalk into the kitchen, and a parent would report it to the doctor. 'Somnambulate' is the clinical term used in medical writing or formal psychology; you would almost never hear it in conversation. 'Walk in one's sleep' is a descriptive phrase that avoids jargon but is longer and less efficient than 'sleepwalk'. In natural speech and writing, 'sleepwalk' is overwhelmingly the most common choice. For the figurative sense (sense 2, 'act without thinking'), none of these words fit — instead use idioms such as 'go through the motions' or 'coast through'.

sleepwalk ↗somnambulatewalk in one's sleep

Common collocations

Nouns

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

'Sleepwalk' is a back-formation from the noun 'sleepwalker', which appeared in English during the 18th century as a plain-language alternative to the medical term 'somnambulist'. It combines the Old English words 'slæpan' (to sleep) and 'wealcan' (to roll or move). The figurative meaning — acting without awareness — developed in the mid-20th century.