sleeper cell
noun
: a terrorist cell whose members work under cover in an area until sent into action
Examples of sleeper cell in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
As someone who went to college in the Boston suburbs and was a freshman when the film The Departed came out, the Dropkick Murphys awakened something in me like a sleeper cell.
—
Ali Barthwell, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
Season 2 tapped into Cold War paranoia, with Lamb and his team unearthing a Russian sleeper cell operation that exposed some of MI5’s deepest secrets.
—Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024
America's intense fear of terrorism after the 9/11 attacks landed hard on the shoulders of Hamid Hayat, whose California upbringing was shattered when he was accused of being part of a terrorist sleeper cell.
—Fifth & Mission Podcast, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Mar. 2022
Authorities never found a terrorist sleeper cell in Lodi.
—Deepa Fernandes, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Sep. 2021
See All Example Sentences for sleeper cell
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Ali Barthwell, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025
Season 2 tapped into Cold War paranoia, with Lamb and his team unearthing a Russian sleeper cell operation that exposed some of MI5’s deepest secrets.
—Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2024
America's intense fear of terrorism after the 9/11 attacks landed hard on the shoulders of Hamid Hayat, whose California upbringing was shattered when he was accused of being part of a terrorist sleeper cell.
—Fifth & Mission Podcast, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Mar. 2022
Authorities never found a terrorist sleeper cell in Lodi.
—Deepa Fernandes, San Francisco Chronicle, 5 Sep. 2021
See All Example Sentences for sleeper cell
Cite this Entry
“Sleeper cell.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sleeper%20cell. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share