Meanings
- If one keeps oneself tightly bundled one will sleep warm and rest well.
Sleep tight! Don't let the bedbugs bite!
- A farewell said shortly before going to bed; usually said between family members or good friends.
"Thank you for washing the dishes." "Goodnight, Mr Smith. "Goodnight, Miss Martin. Sleep tight." Miss Martin's door closes. Hear her light switch on. Smith locking latches on doors and windows. Turning off the faint music on the vast radio. The light out under Miss Martin's door.
1963, J P Donleavy, A Singular Man, published 1963 (USA), pages 138, 139Synonyms: sleep well
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionA farewell said shortly before going to bed; usually said between family members or good friends.
Origin
The word tight is sometimes explained as here meaning “well, soundly”. However, it can just as well be interpreted in its literal sense of “firm, fast”; compare fast asleep.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan dorm bé
- dorm béfarewell
Danish sov godt
- sov godtfarewell
Dutch welterusten, slaapwel
- welterustenfarewell
- slaapwelfarewell
- slaap lekkerfarewell
- trustenfarewell
- trustefarewell
French dors bien, dormez bien
- dors bienfarewell
- dormez bienfarewell
German schlaf gut, schlafen Sie gut
- schlaf gutfarewell
- schlafen Sie gutfarewell
Italian dormi bene
- dormi benefarewell
Polish dobranoc, pchły na noc
- dobranoc, pchły na nocfarewell
Portuguese durma bem
- durma bemfarewell
Spanish buenas noches, duerma bien
- buenas nochesfarewell
- duerma bienfarewell
Swedish dröm sött
- dröm söttfarewell
Cite this entry
sleep tight. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleep%20tight
“sleep tight.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleep%20tight. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sleep tight,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleep%20tight.
Source: sleep tight on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.