sleeper

Meanings

• a rester who is sleeping
• a spy or saboteur or terrorist planted in an enemy country who lives there as a law-abiding citizen until activated by a prearranged signal
• an unexpected achiever of success
  • "the winner was a true sleeper--no one expected him to get it"
• one of the cross braces that support the rails on a railway track
  • "the British call a railroad tie a sleeper"
• a passenger car that has berths for sleeping
• pajamas with feet; worn by children
• a piece of furniture that can be opened up into a bed
• tropical fish that resembles a goby and rests quietly on the bottom in shallow water
• an unexpected hit
  • "that movie was the sleeper of the summer"

Synonyms

crosstie, railroad tie, sleeper goby, sleeping car, slumberer, tie, wagon-lit