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bed

[bed]
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noun
  1. a piece of furniture upon which or within which a person sleeps, rests, or stays when not well.
  2. the mattress and bedclothes together with the bedstead of a bed.
  3. the bedstead alone.
  4. the act of or time for sleeping: Now for a cup of cocoa and then bed.
  5. the use of a bed for the night; lodging: I reserved a bed at the old inn.
  6. the marital relationship.
  7. any resting place: making his bed under a tree.
  8. something resembling a bed in form or position.
  9. a piece or area of ground in a garden or lawn in which plants are grown.
  10. an area in a greenhouse in which plants are grown.
  11. the plants in such areas.
  12. the bottom of a lake, river, sea, or other body of water.
  13. a piece or part forming a foundation or base.
  14. a layer of rock; a stratum.
  15. a foundation surface of earth or rock supporting a track, pavement, or the like: a gravel bed for the roadway.
  16. Building Trades.
    1. the underside of a stone, brick, slate, tile, etc., laid in position.
    2. the upper side of a stone laid in position.
    3. the layer of mortar in which a brick, stone, etc., is laid.
    4. the natural stratification of a stone: a stone laid on bed.
  17. Furniture. skirt(def 6b).
  18. the flat surface in a printing press on which the form of type is laid.
  19. Transportation. the body or, sometimes, the floor or bottom of a truck or trailer.
  20. Chemistry. a compact mass of a substance functioning in a reaction as a catalyst or reactant.
  21. Sports.
    1. the canvas surface of a trampoline.
    2. the smooth, wooden floor of a bowling alley.
    3. the slate surface of a billiard table to which the cloth is fastened.
  22. Zoology. flesh enveloping the base of a claw, especially the germinative layer beneath the claw.
  23. Also called mock, mock mold. Shipbuilding. a shaped steel pattern upon which furnaced plates for the hull of a vessel are hammered to shape.
  24. bed and board.
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verb (used with object), bed·ded, bed·ding.
  1. to provide with a bed.
  2. to put to bed.
  3. Horticulture. to plant in or as in a bed.
  4. to lay flat.
  5. to place in a bed or layer: to bed oysters.
  6. to embed, as in a substance: bedding the flagstones in concrete.
  7. to take or accompany to bed for purposes of sexual intercourse.
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verb (used without object), bed·ded, bed·ding.
  1. to have sleeping accommodations: He says we can bed there for the night.
  2. Geology. to form a compact layer or stratum.
  3. (of a metal structural part) to lie flat or close against another part.
  4. Archaic. to go to bed.
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Verb Phrases
  1. bed down,
    1. to make a bed for (a person, animal, etc.).
    2. to retire to bed: They put out the fire and decided to bed down for the night.
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Idioms
  1. 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.
  2. go to bed,
    1. to retire, especially for the night.
    2. to engage in sexual relations.
  3. go to bed with, to have sexual intercourse with.
  4. in bed,
    1. beneath the covers of a bed.
    2. engaged in sexual intercourse.
  5. 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.
  6. make a bed, to fit a bed with sheets and blankets.
  7. make one's bed, to be responsible for one's own actions and their results: You've made your bed—now lie in it.
  8. put to bed,
    1. to help (a child, invalid, etc.) go to bed.
    2. Printing.to lock up (forms) in a press in preparation for printing.
    3. to work on the preparation of (an edition of a newspaper, periodical, etc.) up to the time of going to press.
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Origin of bed

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 < Germanic *badjan (neuter); akin to Latin fodere to dig, OCS bodǫ, Lithuanian bedù I pierce, Welsh bedd a grave; presumably a bed was dug out in the ground
Related formsbed·less, adjectivebed·like, adjectivein·ter·bed, adjective

Synonyms

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14. band, belt, seam, lode.

B.Ed.

  1. Bachelor of Education.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

bunkmattresscotcribcouchframerowpiecegardenareagroundseatberthbassinetsackplatformcradledavenportdivanpallet

Examples from the Web for bed

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • His nephew, with his coat stripped off, was sitting on the side of the bed.

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • For as he tried to sit up, he fell back sick and dizzy on the bed.

    The Armourer's Prentices

    Charlotte M. Yonge

  • As soon as the fellow on the bed would have his breath he would scream.

  • The trousers which had lain on the floor beside Hank's bed were no longer there.

  • I have not been in bed all night; nor am I in the least drowsy.

    Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)

    Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for bed

bed

noun
  1. a piece of furniture on which to sleep
  2. the mattress and bedclothes on such a piece of furniturean unmade bed
  3. sleep or resttime for bed
  4. any place in which a person or animal sleeps or rests
  5. med a unit of potential occupancy in a hospital or residential institution
  6. informal a place for sexual intercourse
  7. informal sexual intercourse
  8. a plot of ground in which plants are grown, esp when considered together with the plants in ita flower bed
  9. the bottom of a river, lake, or sea
  10. a part of this used for cultivation of a plant or animaloyster beds
  11. a layer of crushed rock, gravel, etc, used as a foundation for a road, railway, etc
  12. a layer of mortar in a masonry wall
  13. the underside of a brick, tile, slate, etc, when in positionCompare back 1 (def. 12)
  14. any underlying structure or part
  15. a layer of rock, esp sedimentary rock
  16. the flat part of a letterpress printing press onto or against which the type forme is placed
  17. 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
  18. a machine base on which a moving part carrying a tool or workpiece slideslathe bed
  19. a bed of roses a situation of comfort or ease
  20. to be brought to bed archaic to give birth (to)
  21. bed of nails
    1. a situation or position of extreme difficulty
    2. a bed studded with nails on which a fakir lies
  22. get out of bed on the wrong side informal to be ill-tempered from the start of the day
  23. go to bed
    1. (often foll by with)to have sexual intercourse (with)
    2. journalism printing(of a newspaper, magazine, etc) to go to press; start printing
  24. in bed with informal cooperating closely with (another person, organization, government, etc.) esp covertly
  25. put to bed
    1. journalismto finalize work on (a newspaper, magazine, etc) so that it is ready to go to press
    2. printingto lock up the type forme of (a publication) in the press before printing
  26. take to one's bed to remain in bed, esp because of illness
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verb beds, bedding or bedded
  1. (usually foll by down) to go to or put into a place to sleep or rest
  2. (tr) to have sexual intercourse with
  3. (tr) to place, fix, or sink firmly into position; embed
  4. geology to form or be arranged in a distinct layer; stratify
  5. (tr often foll by out) to plant in a bed of soil
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See also bed in

Word Origin

Old English bedd; related to Old Norse bethr, Old High German betti, Gothic badi

BEd

abbreviation for
  1. Bachelor of Education
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bed

n.

Old English bedd "bed, couch, resting place, garden plot," from Proto-Germanic *badjam "sleeping place dug in the ground" (cf. Old Frisian, Old Saxon bed, Middle Dutch bedde, Old Norse beðr, Old High German betti, German Bett, Gothic badi "bed"), from PIE root *bhedh- "to dig, pierce" (cf. Hittite beda- "to pierce, prick," Greek bothyros "pit," Latin fossa "ditch," Lithuanian bedre "to dig," Breton bez "grave"). Both "sleeping" and "gardening" senses are in Old English. Meaning "bottom of a lake, sea, watercourse" is from 1580s.

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v.

Old English beddian "to provide with a bed or lodgings," from bed (n.). From c.1300 as "to go to bed," also "to copulate with, to go to bed with;" 1440 as "to lay out (land) in plots or beds." Related: Bedded; bedding.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
bed in Medicine

bed

(bĕd)
n.
  1. A piece of furniture for reclining and sleeping, typically consisting of a flat, rectangular frame and a mattress resting on springs.
  2. Such a piece of furniture used for rest, recuperation, or treatment.
  3. A supporting, underlying, or securing base or structure, especially an anatomical one.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
bed in Science

bed

[bĕd]
  1. 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.
  2. The bottom of a body of water, such as a lake, stream, or ocean.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Idioms and Phrases with bed

bed

In addition to the idioms beginning with bed

  • bed and board
  • bed and breakfast
  • bed of roses

also see:

  • early to bed
  • get up on the wrong side of bed
  • go to bed with
  • make one's bed and lie in it
  • make the bed
  • put to bed
  • should have stood in bed
  • strange bedfellows
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.