napper

UK: /ˈnæpəʳ/ US: (nap′ər)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

nap•per¹  (nap′ər), n. 

1. a textile worker who naps cloth.
2. a machine for putting a nap on cloth.

• nap² + -er¹ 1760–70

nap•per²  (nap′ər), n. 

1. a person who naps or dozes.

• 1350–1400; Middle English; see nap¹, -er¹

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

nap¹ /næp/   v., napped, nap•ping, n. 
v. [no object]

1. to sleep for a short time;
   doze.
2. to be off one's guard:
   The question caught him napping.

n. [countable]

3. a brief period of sleep, esp. one taken during daytime.

nap•per, n. [countable]

nap² /næp/   n., v., napped, nap•ping. 
n. [countable]

1. the short fuzzy ends of fibers on the surface of cloth.

v. [~ + object]

2. to raise a nap on.

napped, adj. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

nap¹  (nap), v., napped, nap•ping, n. 
v.i. 

1. to sleep for a short time;
   doze.
2. to be off one's guard:
   The question caught him napping.

v.t. 

3. to sleep or doze through (a period of time, an activity, etc.) (usually fol. by away):
   I napped the afternoon away. He naps away most of his classes.

n. 

4. a brief period of sleep, esp. one taken during daytime:
   Has the baby had her nap?

• bef. 900; Middle English nappen (verb, verbal), nap (noun, nominal), Old English hnappian to sleep; cognate with Middle High German napfen

Synonyms

• 1. nod, rest, catnap.

nap²  (nap), n., v., napped, nap•ping. 
n. 

1. the short fuzzy ends of fibers on the surface of cloth, drawn up in napping.
2. Botany any downy coating, as on plants.

v.t. 

3. to raise a nap on.

• 1400–50; late Middle English noppe, Old English -hnoppa (as in wullknoppa, mistake for *wullhnoppa tuft of wool), cognate with Middle Dutch, Middle Low German noppe; akin to Old English hnoppian to pluck

nap′less, adj. 
nap′less•ness, n. 

nap³  (nap), n. 

1. Games, Currency napoleon (defs. 2, 3).

• shortened form

-nap, 

1. a combining form extracted from kidnap, with the general sense "abduct or steal in order to collect a ransom'':
   artnap;
   petnap;
   starnap.