Phrase guide

sleep rough

verb · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌsliːp ˈɹʌf/
  • General-American: /ˌslip ˈɹʌf/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australian: /ˌsliːp ˈɹaf/
  • Australian: [ˌslɪip ˈɹaf]
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

verb

Meaning 1

Of a homeless person, to sleep outdoors, particularly as opposed to sleeping in a shelter or similar.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: lie rough, live rough

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: rough it

History

Etymology

From sleep (verb) + rough (“in a rough manner, roughly”, adverb) (a reference to the uncomfortable situation of sleeping outdoors).

Across languages

Translations

15 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 在街上睡覺 /在街上睡觉 (zài jiēshang shuìjiào) — to sleep outdoors
  • Chinese Mandarin: 流浪 (liúlàng) — to sleep outdoors
  • Finnish: nukkua taivasalla — to sleep outdoors
  • French: coucher sous les ponts — to sleep outdoors
  • French: dormir sous les ponts — to sleep outdoors
  • Galician: durmir ao fresco — to sleep outdoors
  • Hungarian: a szabadban / az utcán alszik — to sleep outdoors
  • Italian: dormire all'addiaccio — to sleep outdoors
  • Polish: spać na zewnątrz — to sleep outdoors
  • Portuguese: dormir ao relento — to sleep outdoors
  • Russian: спать на у́лице (spatʹ na úlice) — to sleep outdoors
  • Russian: бомжева́ть (bomževátʹ) — to sleep outdoors
  • Spanish: dormir al raso — to sleep outdoors
  • Spanish: dormir al sereno — to sleep outdoors
  • Yoruba: sùnta — to sleep outdoors