nap.
To have a nap; to sleep for a short period of time, especially during the day.
Meaning & usage
To have a nap; to sleep for a short period of time, especially during the day.
To be off one's guard.
The regulators were caught napping by the financial collapse.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English nappen, from Old English hnappian (“to doze, slumber, sleep”), from Proto-West Germanic *hnappōn (“to nap”). Cognate with Old High German hnaffezan, hnaffezzan (whence Middle High German nafzen (“to slumber”) whence German dialectal napfezen, nafzen (“to nod, slumber, nap”)).
A short period of sleep, especially one during the day.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English nap, from the verb nappen.
A soft or fuzzy surface, generally on fabric or leather.
The common direction, on some kinds of fabric, of the hairs making up the pile.
If the fabric has a nap, make sure all pieces are cut with the nap going the same direction.
Where this word comes from
From late Middle English noppe, nappe, from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German noppe, noppen (“to trim the nap”), ultimately from knappen (“to eat, crack”), of imitative origin. Related to the first element of knapsack.
To form or raise a soft or fuzzy surface on (fabric or leather).
Where this word comes from
From late Middle English noppe, nappe, from Middle Dutch and Middle Low German noppe, noppen (“to trim the nap”), ultimately from knappen (“to eat, crack”), of imitative origin. Related to the first element of knapsack.
A type of bet in British horse racing, based on the experts' best tips.
A card game in which players take tricks; properly Napoleon.
A bid to take five tricks in the card game Napoleon.
Where this word comes from
From the name of the French emperor Napoleon I of France.
To grab; to nab.
Where this word comes from
Probably of North Germanic origin, from Old Swedish nappa (“to pluck, pinch”). Related to nab.
To cover (something) with a sauce. (usually in the passive)
Where this word comes from
From French napper, from nappe (“nape”).
A cup, bowl.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English nap (“a bowl”), from Old English hnæpp (“a cup, bowl”), from Proto-West Germanic *hnapp, from Proto-Germanic *hnappaz (“a cup, bowl”). Cognate with Dutch nap (“drinking cup”), Low German Napp (“bowl, cup”), German Napf (“bowl”), Icelandic hnappur (“button, key”). Doublet of hanap. See also nappy.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.