a piece of furniture upon which or within which a person sleeps, rests, or stays when not well.
the mattress and bedclothes together with the bedstead of a bed.
the bedstead alone.
the act of or time for sleeping.
Now for a cup of cocoa and then bed.
the use of a bed for the night; lodging.
I reserved a bed at the old inn.
the marital relationship.
any resting place.
making his bed under a tree.
something resembling a bed in form or position.
a piece or area of ground in a garden or lawn in which plants are grown.
an area in a greenhouse in which plants are grown.
the plants in such areas.
the bottom of a lake, river, sea, or other body of water.
a piece or part forming a foundation or base.
a layer of rock; a stratum.
a foundation surface of earth or rock supporting a track, pavement, or the like.
a gravel bed for the roadway.
Building Trades.
the underside of a stone, brick, slate, tile, etc., laid in position.
the upper side of a stone laid in position.
the layer of mortar in which a brick, stone, etc., is laid.
the natural stratification of a stone.
a stone laid on bed.
Furniture. skirt.
the flat surface in a printing press on which the form of type is laid.
Transportation. the body or, sometimes, the floor or bottom of a truck or trailer.
Chemistry. a compact mass of a substance functioning in a reaction as a catalyst or reactant.
Sports.
the canvas surface of a trampoline.
the smooth, wooden floor of a bowling alley.
the slate surface of a billiard table to which the cloth is fastened.
Zoology. flesh enveloping the base of a claw, especially the germinative layer beneath the claw.
Also called mock. Also called mock mold. Shipbuilding. a shaped steel pattern upon which furnaced plates for the hull of a vessel are hammered to shape.
to provide with a bed.
to put to bed.
Horticulture. to plant in or as in a bed.
to lay flat.
to place in a bed or layer.
to bed oysters.
to embed, as in a substance.
bedding the flagstones in concrete.
to take or accompany to bed for purposes of sexual intercourse.
to have sleeping accommodations.
He says we can bed there for the night.
Geology. to form a compact layer or stratum.
(of a metal structural part) to lie flat or close against another part.
Archaic. to go to bed.
make one's bed, to be responsible for one's own actions and their results.
You've made your bed—now lie in it.
jump / get into bed with, to form a close, often temporary, alliance, usually with an unlikely ally.
Industry was charged with jumping into bed with labor on the issue.
put to bed,
to help (a child, invalid, etc.) go to bed.
Printing. to lock up (forms) in a press in preparation for printing.
to work on the preparation of (an edition of a newspaper, periodical, etc.) up to the time of going to press.
go to bed with, to have sexual intercourse with.
get up on the wrong side of the bed, to be irritable or bad-tempered from the start of a day.
Never try to reason with him when he's gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.
in bed,
beneath the covers of a bed.
engaged in sexual intercourse.
go to bed,
to retire, especially for the night.
to engage in sexual relations.
make a bed, to fit a bed with sheets and blankets.
a piece of furniture on which to sleep
the mattress and bedclothes on such a piece of furniture
an unmade bed
sleep or rest
time for bed
any place in which a person or animal sleeps or rests
med a unit of potential occupancy in a hospital or residential institution
informal a place for sexual intercourse
informal sexual intercourse
a plot of ground in which plants are grown, esp when considered together with the plants in it
a flower bed
the bottom of a river, lake, or sea
a part of this used for cultivation of a plant or animal
oyster beds
a layer of crushed rock, gravel, etc, used as a foundation for a road, railway, etc
a layer of mortar in a masonry wall
the underside of a brick, tile, slate, etc, when in position Compare back 1
any underlying structure or part
a layer of rock, esp sedimentary rock
the flat part of a letterpress printing press onto or against which the type forme is placed
a layer of solid particles of an absorbent, catalyst, or reagent through which a fluid is passed during the course of a chemical reaction or other process
a machine base on which a moving part carrying a tool or workpiece slides
lathe bed
a situation of comfort or ease
archaic to give birth (to)
a situation or position of extreme difficulty
a bed studded with nails on which a fakir lies
informal to be ill-tempered from the start of the day
(often foll by with) to have sexual intercourse (with)
journalism printing (of a newspaper, magazine, etc) to go to press; start printing
informal cooperating closely with (another person, organization, government, etc.) esp covertly
journalism to finalize work on (a newspaper, magazine, etc) so that it is ready to go to press
printing to lock up the type forme of (a publication) in the press before printing
to remain in bed, esp because of illness
(usually foll by down) to go to or put into a place to sleep or rest
(tr) to have sexual intercourse with
(tr) to place, fix, or sink firmly into position; embed
geology to form or be arranged in a distinct layer; stratify
to plant in a bed of soil
A layer of sediments or rock, such as coal, that extends under a large area and has a distinct set of characteristics that distinguish it from other layers below and above it.
The bottom of a body of water, such as a lake, stream, or ocean.
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English bedd; cognate with Old Frisian, Dutch bed, Old Saxon bed(de), Old High German betti ( German Bett ), Gothic badi, from unattested Germanic badjan (neuter); akin to Latin fodere “to dig,” Old Church Slavonic bodǫ, Lithuanian bedù “I pierce,” Welsh bedd “a grave”; presumably a bed was dug out in the ground
Your bed is the piece of furniture you sleep on at night. One of a babysitter's most important tasks is telling kids when it's time to get into their beds. The bed you get into at bedtime is different from the garden bed you dig each spring, preparing to plant seeds. Another kind of bed is the one made of straw or hay that's tucked inside a barn and intended for animals to sleep on. A truck also has a bed — the open rear part you can fill with goods. To bed, or "bed down," is to put someone to bed or climb into bed yourself.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the village of Andernos, Maria Lalanne, a 90-year-old who had fled Lege Cap Ferret, sat on a camp bed in a gym without her glasses or hearing aid, which she had left behind.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
The discovery could support the development of new approaches for maintaining muscle repair during aging, extended bed rest, and other conditions that involve long periods of inactivity.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 24, 2026
After The Times published the article about his experiences as an unhoused person, a shelter on Skid Row offered him a bed, then helped him get back to Virginia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
"In the early stages, just a slight movement in bed would be excruciating pain," Hearn said.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
A brilliant flash followed a second later by an explosion that shook the bed.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
The team tracks homeless encampments on a map and makes sure that empty shelter beds are filled, she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
You could take the trail all the way to trendy Pampelonne, where sun beds at its beach clubs go for upwards of $140 for the day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
"Lamu's mangroves, coral reefs and seagrass beds are not expendable. They support fisheries, livelihoods and coastal protection," the NGO said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 14, 2026
The room had been used as a dormitory when it was a nuclear bunker and he could "see where the outline of all the beds were".
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
“Bouncy beds, friends, pets, good things to eat.”
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Mr. Scott charts a course through these momentous events with great skill, producing a book that is readable and accessible but bedded in authoritative scholarship.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 8, 2026
I walked the wooded banks of the rivers that converge in the capital and found just a few dozen spots where men had bedded down on simple mats of cardboard or newspaper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 7, 2024
The wards and corridors are teeming with patients, and with families seeking shelter, who have bedded down on the floor.
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2024
As dusk approached, he bedded down at home in case the Israeli army advanced at nightfall.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2023
We’re lucky if these ’taters is bedded by noon tomorrow.”
From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt
Criw Compostio picks up waste, as well as wood shavings from a carpentry business and used rabbit and guinea pig bedding from pet owners, twice a week.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
He uses mostly poultry litter, an organic fertilizer comprised of bird manure, feathers, bedding material and spilled feed, and he buys a lot of it — 3,125 tons each year.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 2, 2026
No bedding could be seen from the drone’s camera.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
A spokeswoman for the eSafety Commission -- Australia's online watchdog -- said the documents only covered a short period of time as the laws were bedding down.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 2026
We had nothing which had escaped drenching: no victuals, no bedding.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
