Definition

1. Verb (past tense of "outsleep"):
   • To sleep longer than intended or than someone else: "outslept" means to have slept beyond a planned waking time or to have slept for a longer duration than another person.
   • To sleep through an event or period: It can also mean to have slept until a specific condition or event (such as rain or a noise) ended.

Usage Examples

• Sleeping longer than intended:

  • He outslept his alarm and missed the morning meeting. (He slept past the time he set his alarm for.)

• Sleeping longer than another person:

  • She outslept her brother on the weekend, waking up at noon while he was up at 8 a.m. (She slept for a longer period than her brother.)

• Sleeping through a condition:

  • They outslept the storm, waking only after it had passed. (They slept until the storm was over.)

Advanced Usage

• "to outslept one's welcome": to sleep so long that one overstays their welcome or causes inconvenience.

  • He outslept his welcome at the hotel by checking out two hours late. (He slept past the normal checkout time and caused a problem.)

• "to have outslept the morning": to have slept through the entire morning.

  • After the long flight, I outslept the morning and didn't see the sunrise. (I slept through the entire morning.)

Variants and Related Words

• Outsleep (verb, base form): to sleep longer than.

  • I usually outsleep my roommate on Saturdays. (I sleep longer than my roommate does.)

• Outsleeping (present participle): the act of sleeping longer.

  • Outsleeping the alarm is a bad habit. (The action of sleeping past the alarm is a bad habit.)

Synonyms

• Overslept: slept longer than intended (very similar meaning).

  • She overslept and missed the bus. (She slept past her intended waking time.)

• Slept in: slept later than usual (informal).

  • He slept in on Sunday and skipped breakfast. (He slept later than normal.)

Phrasal Verbs

• Sleep in: to sleep later than usual, often intentionally.

  • On holidays, I like to sleep in until noon. (I sleep later than normal.)

• Sleep through: to remain asleep despite noise or events.

  • The baby slept through the thunderstorm. (The baby did not wake up during the storm.)

Related Idioms

• Sleep like a log: to sleep deeply and soundly.

  • After the hike, I slept like a log and outslept everyone else. (I slept very deeply and for a long time.)

• Sleep on it: to delay a decision until the next day.

  • I'll sleep on it and decide tomorrow — but don't outslept your chance to respond. (Don't delay so long that you miss the opportunity.)