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

See Examples For:

bed and board

"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 man wrongly convicted of murder has lost a legal challenge to reclaim money he was charged for bed and board during the 11 years he spent behind bars.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 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

In 1991, after dropping out of high school, Cantu was offered free bed and board by Bill and Jan Miller, a Portland couple who offered help to teenagers in need of support.

From The Guardian ● Apr. 6, 2018

Voluntary abandonment from bed and board for two years.

From Marriage and Divorce Laws of the World by Hyacinthe Ringrose