coldsleep

• cold sleep

From cold +‎ sleep.

coldsleep (uncountable)

1. A deep sleep during which the body is stored at very cold temperature, to preserve it; cryogenic sleep.

   Synonyms: cryo, cryopreservation, cryosleep

   • 1941 August, Robert A. Heinlein, “Methuselah's Children”, in John W. Campbell, editor, Astounding Science-Fiction, volume 27, number 6:

     By converting some of the recreation space to storerooms and adapting the storerooms thus cleared to the purpose of cold-sleep, the ship was roomy enough.

   • 1968 September, Poul Anderson, “The Faun”, in Boys' Life, volume 58, number 9, page 33:

     He had always believed Arcadia lovely, an undespoiled planet waiting for man like a bride, more than worth decades in coldsleep aboard a spaceship, toil and danger of pioneering, isolation from the rest of humankind.

coldsleep (third-person singular simple present coldsleeps, present participle coldsleeping, simple past and past participle coldslept)

1. To experience deep sleep whilst the body is stored at a very cold temperature; to engage in cryogenic sleep.

   Synonym: cryopreserve

   • 1956 October, Robert A. Heinlein, “The Door into Summer”, in Anthony Boucher, editor, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, volume 11, number 4:

     Damnation, he was quite capable of refusing to let me cold-sleep.

   • 1990, Anne McCaffrey, Jody Lynn Nye, The Death of Sleep:

     The escape capsule in which he'd cold-slept had had another minor malfunction that left him staring drugged and half conscious through the port glass at open space for two days before the cryogenic process had kicked in.

• Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2024), “coldsleep, n.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction.
• Jesse Sheidlower, editor (2001–2024), “coldsleep, v.”, in Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction.