doze off
A2 neutral intransitive
In simple words
To accidentally fall asleep, usually when you're sitting down or not trying to sleep.
Literal meaning: To drift into a doze (a light sleep) and go off into it.
Meanings
1 A2 neutral
To fall asleep gradually and unintentionally, especially when not in bed.
"He dozed off in front of the television and missed the end of the film."
"I was just dozing off when the phone rang."
— Common colloquial expression; widely attributed form across British sitcoms and literature, e.g. broadly characteristic of P.G. Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster narratives.
Usage notes
Very common and natural in everyday English. Often implies the sleep is light and/or brief. Commonly used when someone falls asleep in front of the television, in a meeting, or on a train.
Commonly used with
sofa meeting lecture television chair train
Forms
Base
doze off
I/you/we/they
3rd person
dozes off
he/she/it
Past simple
dozed off
yesterday
Past participle
dozed off
have + pp
-ing form
dozing off
continuous
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