sleep with one's fathers

verb

To be buried together with one's forebears; hence, to die; also, to be dead.

OriginBiblical Hebrew וַיִּשְׁכַּב עִם־אֲבֹתָיו →
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Meanings

verbsleep with one's fathers (third-person singular simple present sleeps with one's fathers, present participle sleeping with one's fathers, simple past and past participle slept with one's fathers)

present singular third person sleeps with one's fathers · participle present sleeping with one's fathers · participle past slept with one's fathers · past slept with one's fathers

  1. datedliteraryobsoletebiblicalTo be buried together with one's forebears; hence, to die; also, to be dead.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
be gathered to one's fathersdie

Origin

  1. Biblical Hebrewוַיִּשְׁכַּב עִם־אֲבֹתָיו
  2. Englishsleep with one's fathers

Calque of Biblical Hebrew וַיִּשְׁכַּב עִם־אֲבֹתָיו (wayyiškaḇ ʿim-ʾăḇōṯâw, literally “he slept with his fathers”) (found, for example, in the Bible at 1 Kings 2:10); compare be gathered to one's fathers.

More words from Biblical Hebrew

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

sleep with one's fathers. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleep%20with%20one's%20fathers

MLA

“sleep with one's fathers.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleep%20with%20one's%20fathers. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sleep with one's fathers,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sleep%20with%20one's%20fathers.

Source: sleep with one's fathers on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.