Does "I slept in" imply I did it on purpose or by accident?

Question

There are 2 situations:

Situation 1: I have to get to work at 7:30 am so I often set my alarm clock for 7 am on a weekday. Now the alarm clock goes off and I wake up at 7 am but I feel very tired so I turn off the alarm clock and tell myself "I'll take a nap for 5 more minutes and will get up at 7:05 am" but when I get up, it's 7:40 already.

Can I say "I slept in and was late for work" in this situation?

Situation 2: it's Sunday and I don't have to go to work. I often get up at 8am on Sundays. But today (Sunday) I just sleep and let myself wake up whenever I need to wake up. When I wake up, it's 9am already.

Can I say "I slept in" in this situation?

Does "I slept in" imply I did it on purpose (as in situation 2) or by accident (as in situation 1)?

An EL&U post: Do "sleep in" and "oversleep" mean the same thing? If so, what is hidden after "sleep in?" — Mari-Lou A, Nov 20 '23 at 01:54
In situation 1, you can say either one, and it won't matter to your boss. He'll tell you, "Don't do it again." — Wastrel, Nov 21 '23 at 13:58
Should there be or is there a tag to indicate a preference towards a given cultural context? I.e., British English, South African English, American English, or Australian English or Canadian English or what not? — Abraham, Nov 21 '23 at 18:21
@holydragon There is "sleep out" (noun and verb) that refers to sleeping outdoors under the stars, for fun and enjoyment. In the US, kids would ask their parents "Can we have a sleep out?" It, too, is normally by choice. We wouldn't normally say of a homeless person that they are "sleeping out". — TimR, Nov 22 '23 at 11:20
@gotube, wow, I apologize for the ignorant question. In that case, I would ask Tom if he had a preference of context, given that the top two answers and many of the comments seem to show that the answer will vary somewhat based on the context. Otherwise, I will delete my comments if that would be more appropriate. — Abraham, Nov 23 '23 at 06:32
No; absolutely not. 'I slept in' reports a fact, with no reference to how or why that came about.
To use silly examples, could 'I died' or 'I inherited a great fortune' imply that you did anything on purpose or by accident? — Robbie Goodwin, Nov 27 '23 at 22:31

TimR · Accepted Answer · 2023-11-21T22:03:36.040

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slept in means slept late intentionally. overslept means woke up late, unintentionally.

P.S. I'm a native speaker of American English and it's possible other dialects of English might use this phrase differently, and possible that in AmE the verb sleep in has developed the meaning of "to sleep late accidentally". But in my multiple decades of speaking AmE, I've never heard it used that way.

Merriam-Webster includes "oversleep" as one of the meanings of sleep in, but does not include whether intransitive oversleeping is intentional or accidental, though I've only heard it used with the "accidentally" meaning, and they offer a definition for a transitive oversleep where it has the intentional meaning, though they don't offer any attestation, and I have never heard a sentence where oversleep has a direct object. I've heard "I slept through my alarm."

Here is the meaning I've always heard for "sleep in":

sleep in

verb
slept in; sleeping in; sleeps in
intransitive verb
to sleep late intentionally

edited Nov 21 '23 at 22:03

answered Nov 20 '23 at 01:22

TimR

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ChtGPT says "The phrase "I slept in" typically implies that someone intentionally or unintentionally slept longer than they usually do or than they were expected to. " – Tom Nov 20 '23 at 01:29
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@Tom If you intend to keep sleeping, you would refer to it as "sleeping in." The verb oversleep is an old one, dating from the fourteenth century, and it's related to the Old English noun oferslæp, "too much sleep." – Mari-Lou A Nov 20 '23 at 01:56
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Where? In UK usage, "sleep in" commonly means accidentally and "oversleep" is rare. In the US, "oversleep" is more common for both accidental and deliberate. If a British person slept through their alarm clock they would say they slept in; an American would probably say they overslept. – Stuart F Nov 20 '23 at 10:43
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@StuartF As a Brit I would more likely use "oversleep" for accidental. Maybe this is an Americanism that has crept into my vocabulary but I don't think any Brit would find it unusual. As for the opposite, I'm thinking of that famous scene from the first Home Alone film where the (American) parents shout "WE SLEPT IN!". So while there might be more of a tendancy towards one or the other among Brits and Americans I don't think this is universal. However I will say I agree with the broad strokes that to me by default "slept in" means intentionally and "overslept" is always unintentional. – Muzer Nov 20 '23 at 10:56
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I will also say than in British English you can "have a lie-in" which is unambiguously intentional (it's often got the connotation of lying in bed relaxing without necessarily being asleep though). – Muzer Nov 20 '23 at 10:56
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@Muzer, Oxford dictionary says "lie in" is British usage and it means "sleep in" in American English https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/lie-in_1?q=lie+in – Tom Nov 20 '23 at 12:40
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I agree with this answer, with the caveat that you can modify either one with "intentionally" or "accidentally" and yield varying degrees of sense without risking pure nonsense (as you would with a contradiction in terms). – Luke Sawczak Nov 20 '23 at 14:18
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@StuartF: I can't see any significant difference in the relative prevalence of *sleep in* vs *oversleep* between British and American texts, and so far as I'm concerned (as a Brit) the distinction TimR makes is exactly the same as me. – FumbleFingers Nov 20 '23 at 15:47
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Just chiming in to say that as an American, TimR's answer is accurate to my experiences. If someone said "I slept in" with no qualifiers, I would assume it was intentional. If they said "I overslept" with no qualifiers, I would assume it was unintentional. – reffu Nov 20 '23 at 15:59
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@StuartF I'm British, and very rarely oversleep, but I did this morning. I certainly wouldn't say that setting my alarm wrong made me sleep in. Sleeping in - if used - is more like having a lie-in, bu emphasising the actual sleep – Chris H Nov 20 '23 at 16:44
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@StuartF I can see sleep in being used for accidental situations (though I’d be unlikely to use it so myself), but I am quite confident that I have never in my life heard anyone – British or American – referring to an intentional Sunday morning lie-in as ‘oversleeping’. I can’t find any dictionaries that licence such a usage either. The prefix over- very strongly implies, or even denotes, a lack of intention. Whether you oversleep, overeat, overshare or overdo something, it is invariably not your intention. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Nov 20 '23 at 17:25
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My experience of dealing with native English speakers for over 20 years is that it's a completely agnostic idiom that's entirely dependant on context. I've found this to be consistent regardless of where the English speakers come from or which generation they are. – Aaargh Zombies Nov 20 '23 at 18:24
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If my alarm clock fails to go off and I'm late for work, I will call my boss and say "I overslept." I would never say "I slept in" in that circumstance. – barbecue Nov 20 '23 at 19:32
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I've used "accidentally slept in" before. The specific context was "I had jet lag so I accidentally slept in until 2 pm." I wonder if consequences are the determiner between accidentally sleeping in and oversleeping. If I had missed a meeting I probably would have used overslept instead. – YonKuma Nov 20 '23 at 20:25
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I'm really surprised that Brits would say that "slept in" was anything but a statement of intent. I know that would go down badly for an accident with an employer - "overslept" is a conciliatory term to show it was an accident. "Slept in" is always deliberate. – roganjosh Nov 20 '23 at 20:37
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This answer is completely wrong (in all regions) – Fattie Nov 20 '23 at 22:22
As a native Brit, I would say "I had a lie in" if I were doing it intentionally, or "I overslept" if it were accidental. I would never say "Slept in" under any circumstances – ThaRobster Nov 21 '23 at 10:56
@Mari-LouA The noun ofer-slǽp (excessive sleep) appears in the Old English Leechdoms. – TimR Nov 21 '23 at 13:24
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In Scottish English, "slept in" is perfectly normal for an accidental situation. It is the default phrase in my experience. – MikeB Nov 21 '23 at 14:47
@MikeB There are probably dialect differences here as well as generational ones. For all of the 20th c. in AmE, "slept in" has referred to a deliberate choice: "Tomorrow's Saturday and I can sleep in." This dude (writing in 1919) seems to think the Scots "confuse" a lot of things :-) See Page 205. https://www.google.com/books/edition/A_Guide_to_the_English_Language/53wLAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22slept+in%22+scottish&pg=PA205&printsec=frontcover – TimR Nov 21 '23 at 15:03
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Comments about ChatGPT are irrelevant to this answer, and have been moved to chat; please do not continue the discussion here. Before posting a comment below this one, please review the purposes of comments. Comments that do not request clarification or suggest improvements usually belong as an answer, on [meta], or in [chat]. Comments continuing discussion may be removed. – gotube Nov 21 '23 at 21:15
@TimR The OP quoting relevant info from ChatGPT is fine, as is one comment saying ChatGPT is a terrible source. All the other comments are venting and arguing about ChatGPT itself. There's nothing against the rules about mentioning ChatGPT or quoting it. It is, however, against the rules to have a long conversation about a topic irrelevant to the content above it. – gotube Nov 21 '23 at 21:27

DoneWithThis. · Answer 2 · 2023-11-20T15:26:54.947

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The dictionaries all agree that to sleep in is to stay in bed longer than usual - but none I can find indicate whether or not that's intentional.
My own personal experience as a UK native differs from that of other answers, both here & in the linked QA.

To me, to sleep in is unintentional, as is oversleep.

To remain in bed longer than usual intentionally is to lie in.
One potentially interesting thing about 'lie in' is it tends not to be conjugated for tense. You might say "I'm lying in this morning" but more frequently it would be phrased as something you 'have' rather than 'do'.

I'm having a lie in this morning.
I had a lie in yesterday.
I might have a lie in tomorrow.

After comments, it seems the Oxford Learner's Dictionary defines this as British usage.

edited Nov 20 '23 at 15:26

answered Nov 20 '23 at 08:26

DoneWithThis.

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Are you from the UK? This matches what I understand to be normal British usage, but I think it's different in the US, and no idea about other countries. – Stuart F Nov 20 '23 at 10:45
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Yes, UK native. I'll add that to the answer. – DoneWithThis. Nov 20 '23 at 10:51
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(1) lie in is not used (at all) in the US. (2) Purely FWIW mentioning "lie in" has absolutely nothing to do with this question (there are 20? 40? other phrases similar to the one mentioned in the question - why mention one or any of them?) (3) It's completely commonplace, both in the UK and US, to use sleep-in to mean deliberately. Your girlfriend rolls over and tells you "let's sleep in today!" – Fattie Nov 20 '23 at 22:27
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@Fattie - then downvote my answer & write your own. Don't just snipe in comments. – DoneWithThis. Nov 21 '23 at 07:06
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@Fattie I disagree 100% - the only phrase I would ever use for deliberate time in bed is "lie in", which makes it relevant to the original question, as it runs counter to the idea of "sleep in" as deliberate. – MikeB Nov 21 '23 at 14:49

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 20 '23 at 23:32

Can I say "I slept in and was late for work" in this situation?

You can absolutely say that, sleeping past your intended time to wake up is "I slept in", were you late for work? If yes, then this is still a true statement. But it does leave the intent ambiguous compared to other phrases, which can often be a good thing.

Does "I slept in" imply I did it on purpose or by accident?

In most cases, the reason why you slept in or if the act was on purpose or an accident is irrelevant. It is a neutral term really with regard to your intent, you have described the action without giving any context. This means that the recipient of this information is going to process it with regard to how your tardiness has affected them, how late you were for the engagement and whether you arrive at all will further impact the outcome.

As a general phrase, "I slept in" is used because by not disclosing exactly why you slept in or if you did it on purpose or not means that you can rely on existing goodwill to help determine the outcome.

In any scenario, if you were to sleep in often, then it demonstrates lack of effort and lack of regard or disrespect for the engagement that you missed.

Other phrases like "I had a lie-in today" or "I chose the sleep in" or "I turned my alarm off last night" clearly define that this act was on purpose and pre-meditated (it is reasonable to expect that those actions would lead to you sleeping in too long), which will generally reflect poorly on you, but will sometimes get you credit for honesty.

In the context of work this is a common phrase to use. It is generally received as an excuse. The fact that you slept in deliberately because the you snoozed the alarm or slept through it or forgot to set it in the first place is irrelevant. To arrive at work at the prescribed time is your responsibility, so it is incumbent on you to ensure that necessary precautions are taken to get you there on time.

Even in scenarios where slept in due to power-loss or your dog ate your phone or alarm clock, your intent is irrelevant. The more specific or elaborate that your excuse might be to try and justify why you did not wake up is even more likely to reflect poorly on you, this is another reason why using the simple phrase "I slept in" is helpful, it avoids the suspicion that you are trying to cover up the fact that you slept in on purpose or had a reasonable expectation before you went to sleep that you would sleep in, even if you did not do it specifically on purpose.

The number one reason why we sleep is that our body did not get enough sleep in the first place. That might be due to a medical condition, the environment you sleep in, having kids or a partner, or pets that keep waking you up, sleeping with the TV on, staying up too late, drinking or taking other substances whether they be medicinal or not before going to bed...

It is generally accepted that All of these things are to a degree within your control. If it is important for you to wake up on time in the morning, then you will take whatever precaution that is needed to ensure that these other factors that affect you, will not prevent you from waking up on time.

If you were talking about the fact that you "slept in, and was late for work" to a third party who was unaffected by this, then you might choose to disclose why you think or why you deliberately slept in. But if you were talking to someone who was affected, either because it was important to them or your lateness/absence meant that they had to put in more effort to cover you then they will not be impressed to hear that you did it on purpose, nor would they be happy to hear that you didn't put in the necessary effort to ensure that you were there on time. For these people keeping it short with "I slept in" is generally the best defence you can offer, it is probably better not to disclose any further details. However, it would be polite to apologise :)

The only generally acceptable excuse for lateness is medical or major environmental emergencies that are truly beyond your control. Every other excuse is simply that, and excuse and admission that you didn't put in the required effort.

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 21 '23 at 06:39

I think using "slept in" can potentially mean both intentional or unintentional. If a friend just said "sorry, I slept in", I'd probably assume they hit the snooze button one too many times by accident. But if they provided some context like "I decided to sleep in since it's my day off," then I'd know it was on purpose. That's why I think adding a little explanation goes a long way.

Does "I slept in" imply I did it on purpose or by accident?

4 Answers4