# slumber

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈslʌm.bə/ · frequency rank #22,510

## Definitions
1. A very light state of sleep, almost awake.
2. A very light state of sleep, almost awake.
3. A state of ignorance or inaction.
4. The snooze button on an alarm clock.

## Etymology
From Middle English slombren, slomren, frequentative of Middle English slummen, slumen (“to doze”), probably from Middle English slume (“slumber”), from Old English slūma, from Proto-Germanic *slūm- (“slack, loose, limp, flabby”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)lew- (“loose, limp, flabby”). Cognate with West Frisian slommerje, slûmerje (“to slumber”), Dutch sluimeren (“to slumber”), German schlummern (“to slumber, doze”), Swedish slummer (“to slumber”). By surface analysis, sloom + -er.

## Easily confused with
- **summer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slumber-vs-summer)
- **Sumner** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slumber-vs-sumner)
- **somber** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slumber-vs-somber)
- **Sumter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slumber-vs-sumter)
- **Sauber** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sauber-vs-slumber)
- **slimmer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slimmer-vs-slumber)
- **slugger** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/slugger-vs-slumber)

## Common misspellings (11)
`lsumber`, `sllumber`, `slmuber`, `slubmer`, `slumbber`, `slumberr`, `slumbre`, `slumebr`, `slummber`, `sslumber`, `sulmber`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/slumber