sleepwalk
verbEtymology From sleep + walk.
1
To walk or perform other actions while sleeping; to somnambulate.
- Government... unions... industry... we have had enough. We - no, YOU - are sleepwalking the rest of us towards a less busy, less relevant industry with a smaller workforce, fewer passengers, fading importance, declining investment, poorly-paid jobs, and a truly shambolic reputation.2022 August 24, Nigel Harris, “Comment: Rail strikes deadlock”, in RAIL, number 964, page 3:
2
Figuratively To perform actions without being aware of them; to do something that invites certain results without confronting that possibility.
- The government is sleepwalking into a crisis.
- They're trying to sleepwalk past their health problems.
1 more example
- Chris Coons, a Democratic senator, said he was also alarmed at the administration’s actions, telling the station: “I have no idea why the president is seizing an oil tanker and I’m fairly gravely concerned that he’s sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela.”2025 December 11, Joseph Gedeon, quoting Chris Coons, “US lawmakers condemn seizure of Venezuelan oil tanker: ‘Trump is sleepwalking us into a war’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- Derived terms
- sleepwalker, sleepwalking
- Related terms
- sleep-eat