bed and board

American  

noun

1. living quarters and meals.

   In this school students must pay by the week for bed and board.

2. one's home regarded as exemplifying the obligations of marriage.

   He said he would not be responsible for her debts after she left his bed and board.

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bed and board British  

noun

1. sleeping accommodation and meals

2. law a form of divorce whereby the parties are prohibited from living together but the marriage is not dissolved

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bed and board Idioms  

1. Lodging and meals, as in Housekeepers usually earn a standard salary in addition to bed and board. This phrase was first recorded in the York Manual (c. 1403), which stipulated certain connubial duties: “Her I take ... to be my wedded wife, to hold to have at bed and at board.” Later bed was used merely to denote a place to sleep.

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Etymology

Origin of bed and board

late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50

Example Sentences

"I'm so well looked after by folks that I meet along the way," she said, with some offering bed and board to assist in her journey, she told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme.

From BBC • Oct. 25, 2025

"A few of the luckier poor people got bed and board in the hospital for life. Selection criteria would have been a mix of material want, local politics, and spiritual merit."

From Science Daily • Dec. 1, 2023

Her parents argued she would have done no better financially had she worked away from the farm, insisting she earned a fair income and received free bed and board.

From BBC • May 19, 2016

"Free bed and board, free meals, laundry done, no bills. What a result!"

From The Guardian • Aug. 18, 2014

If this admonition also proves fruitless the court grants a separation from bed and board for one year.

From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Ringrose, Hyacinthe