From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Sleeper \Sleep"er\, n. [Cf. Norw. sleip a sleeper (a timber), as
adj., slippery, smooth. See {Slape}.]
Something lying in a reclining posture or position.
Specifically:
[1913 Webster]
(a) One of the pieces of timber, stone, or iron, on or near
the level of the ground, for the support of some
superstructure, to steady framework, to keep in place the
rails of a railway, etc.; a stringpiece.
[1913 Webster]
(b) One of the joists, or roughly shaped timbers, laid
directly upon the ground, to receive the flooring of the
ground story. [U.S.]
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(c) (Naut.) One of the knees which connect the transoms to
the after timbers on the ship's quarter.
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(d) (Naut.) The lowest, or bottom, tier of casks.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Sleeper \Sleep"er\, n.
1. One who sleeps; a slumberer; hence, a drone, or lazy
person.
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2. That which lies dormant, as a law. [Obs.] --Bacon.
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3. A sleeping car. [Colloq. U.S.]
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4. (Zool.) An animal that hibernates, as the bear.
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5. (Zool.)
(a) A large fresh-water gobioid fish ({Eleotris
dormatrix}).
(b) A nurse shark. See under {Nurse}.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Tetard \Te*tard"\, n. (Zool.)
A gobioid fish ({Eleotris gyrinus}) of the Southern United
States; -- called also {sleeper}.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
sleeper
n 1: a rester who is sleeping [syn: {sleeper}, {slumberer}]
2: a spy or saboteur or terrorist planted in an enemy country
who lives there as a law-abiding citizen until activated by a
prearranged signal
3: an unexpected achiever of success; "the winner was a true
sleeper--no one expected him to get it"
4: one of the cross braces that support the rails on a railway
track; "the British call a railroad tie a sleeper" [syn:
{tie}, {railroad tie}, {crosstie}, {sleeper}]
5: a passenger car that has berths for sleeping [syn: {sleeping
car}, {sleeper}, {wagon-lit}]
6: pajamas with feet; worn by children
7: a piece of furniture that can be opened up into a bed
8: tropical fish that resembles a goby and rests quietly on the
bottom in shallow water [syn: {sleeper}, {sleeper goby}]
9: an unexpected hit; "that movie was the sleeper of the summer"
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