bedfellow

[bed-fel-oh]

noun

1. Also called bedmate. a person who shares one's bed.

2. an associate or collaborator, especially one who forms a temporary alliance for reasons of expediency.

   Politics makes strange bedfellows.

bedfellow

/ ˈbɛdˌfɛləʊ /

noun

1. a person with whom one shares a bed

2. a temporary ally or associate

Word History and Origins

Origin of bedfellow¹

First recorded in 1400–50, bedfellow is from the late Middle English word bedfelow. See bed, fellow

Example Sentences

In an internal email from July 2024, university officials said "attempting to retain the business in China and publication of the research are now untenable bedfellows".

Read more on BBC

The strange political bedfellows created by efforts to save spotted owls in the Pacific Northwest just got even stranger.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

To avoid this outcome, Bolsonaro forged alliances with an array of legislative parties and strange bedfellows.

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Tragedy and comedy make freaky bedfellows in “Oedipus the King, Mama!”

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Call them leagues, call them conferences, geographical realignment would make for some strange bedfellows.

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Related Words

• caller 
• client 
• companion 
• customer 
• inmate 
• patron 
• recipient 
• tenant 
• vacationer 
• visitor