Meanings
nounmicrosleep (countable and uncountable, plural microsleeps)
plural microsleeps
- countableuncountableA brief period of sleep, usually of a few seconds, that may result from sleep deprivation or various medical conditions.First known use 20th c.
During a microsleep, your brain becomes blind to the outside world for a brief moment—and not just the visual domain, but in all channels of perception.
2017, Matthew Walker, Why We Sleep, Penguin, published 2018, page 1341 more example
It followed RAIB's conclusion that the driver of tram 2551 had lost attention for a period of several seconds before the accident, possibly due to going into a microsleep.
2022 April 6, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Croydon crash: driver and transport bodies charged”, in RAIL, number 954, page 9
Origin
Translations
Czech mikrospánek
- mikrospánekbrief period of sleep, usually of a few seconds
German Sekundenschlaf
- Sekundenschlafbrief period of sleep, usually of a few seconds
Spanish microsueño
- microsueñobrief period of sleep, usually of a few seconds
Cite this entry
APA
microsleep. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microsleep
MLA
“microsleep.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microsleep. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “microsleep,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/microsleep.
Source: microsleep on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.