Dictionary

sleep rough en · VERB

Pronunciation

• [ˌslɪip ˈɹaf] (Australia)
• /ˌsliːp ˈɹʌf/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (General-American) audio
• /ˌslip ˈɹʌf/ (General-American)
• /ˌsliːp ˈɹaf/ (Australia)
• (Australia) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) Of a homeless person, to sleep outdoors, particularly as opposed to sleeping in a shelter or similar.
   • To be found sleeping in a public place is like being found without visible means of support—an indictable offence. Further, it is an indication of sin. "He sleeps rough"—therefore he is, doubtless, a thief, a drunkard, and a liar. There seems no reason why similar evidence should not be brought in a contrary sense to prove a man's worth. 1926, Rose Macaulay, A Casual Commentary, New York, N.Y.: Boni & Liveright, →OCLC, page 101:
   • [...] I was quite taken out of myself and vowed a vow there to go to Rome on Pilgrimage and see all Europe which the Christian Faith has saved; and I said, "I will start from the place where I served in arms for my sins; I will walk all the way and take advantage of no wheeled thing; I will sleep rough and cover thirty miles a day, and I will hear Mass every morning; and I will be present at High Mass in St. Peter's on the Feast of St Peter and St Paul." 1902, H[ilaire] Belloc, “Praise of This Book”, in The Path to Rome, New York, N.Y.: Longmans, Green and Co.; London: George Allen, page viii, →OCLC:
   • There is no evidence that anyone sleeps rough or drinks methanol in Oldham. [...] A voluntary organisation, the Bayswater Housing Association, has recently opened a couple of terraced houses for "the homeless". 1975, John Stewart, “Social Services”, in Of No Fixed Abode: Vagrancy and the Welfare State, Manchester: Manchester University Press, →ISBN, page 87:
   • Children ran and played by the roadside while others slept rough on the dirt. Hard skin on feet, blackened toes, tattered shorts, skin and bones. 2008, Sanchita Islam, “The Pink House”, in Sarah Broughton, editor, Gungi Blues, Brentwood, Essex: Chipmunkapublishing, page 47:
   • I am glad to hear what the Government are doing to reduce the number of people sleeping rough. It is a disgrace that anyone sleeps rough. An average of 3 per cent. of local housing owned by Labour local authorities is unoccupied, and in Islington it is 6 per cent. Why cannot it be used by people who are sleeping rough? 1998 February 3, Jonathan Sayeed, “Rough Sleepers”, in House of Commons Hansard (House of Commons of the United Kingdom), volume 305, London: Parliament of the United Kingdom, archived from the original on 04 Oct 2020:
   • They sleep rough nearby under duvets and sleeping bags, lying next to each other to keep warm. 2023 December 22, Robyn Vinter, “‘That’s how we’ve got to live’: the black market in England’s shoplifting capital”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
   • I have written about Sostratus elsewhere, describing his bulk and enormous strength; how he lived in the open air on Parnassus, slept rough, ate what the mountain provided, and performed deeds which matched his name—killing robbers, and making roads through unbroken country and bridges over impassable places. 2005, Lucian, “Demonax”, in [Charles] Desmond [Nuttall] Costa, transl., Selected Dialogues, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 152:
   • He was nervy and restless, sick of waiting and sick of hiding. He had slept rough again the last two nights, once in Hyde Park and once under the arches at Charing Cross. 1982, Ken Follett, chapter 12, in The Man from St. Petersburg, New York, N.Y.: Penguin Books, published 2017, →ISBN, page 237:
   • But there is perhaps no more visible manifestation of austerity than the disgraceful levels of homelessness we see in Britain today. Tents and mattresses lining the streets of towns and cities across the country, home to people forced to sleep rough, have become an increasingly common sight. 2018 October 28, “The Observer view on the budget and the decade of austerity”, in The Observer, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 19 Oct 2019:
   • I will warrant they prove such roaring boys as I knew when I served under Lumford and Goring, [...] —sleeping rough on the trenches, and dying stubbornly in their boats. Ah! those merry days are gone. 1826, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in Woodstock; Or, The Cavalier. […], volume II, Edinburgh: […] [James Ballantyne and Co.] for Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, →OCLC, page 93:

Forms

Deriveds

rough sleeping · rough sleeper

Hypernyms

rough it

Relateds

rough it

Synonyms

lie rough · live rough

Translations (15)

pt dormir ao relento (to sleep outdoors) · yo sùnta (to sleep outdoors) · cmn 在街上睡覺 /在街上睡觉 (to sleep outdoors) · hu a szabadban / az utcán alszik (to sleep outdoors) · it dormire all'addiaccio (to sleep outdoors) · fi nukkua taivasalla (to sleep outdoors) · ru бомжева́ть (to sleep outdoors) · gl durmir ao fresco (to sleep outdoors) · pl spać na zewnątrz (to sleep outdoors) · cmn 流浪 (to sleep outdoors) · fr dormir sous les ponts (to sleep outdoors) · es dormir al raso (to sleep outdoors) · es dormir al sereno (to sleep outdoors) · ru спать на у́лице (to sleep outdoors) · fr coucher sous les ponts (to sleep outdoors)