sleep rough /ˌsliːp ˈɹʌf/ verb1 •Of a homeless person, to sleep outdoors, particularly as opposed to sleeping in a shelter or similar.I will warrant they prove such roaring boys as I knew when I served under Lumford and Goring, [...] —sleeping rough on the trenches, and dying stubbornly in their boats. Ah! those merry days are gone. — 1826 formsslept rough · sleeping rough · sleeps rough