bedridden
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of bedridden
1300–50; Middle English, variant (by confusion with past participle of ride ) of bedrid
Explanation
Someone who's bedridden is so sick or elderly that they can't get out of bed. Your friend might have such a bad case of the flu that she's bedridden for several days and can't go to work or school. Most people who are bedridden are terribly ill and confined to their bed — or a hospital bed — until they recover. Very old people might also be bedridden because of weakness or pain. The word comes from the Old English bæddrædæn, "bedridden man," from the roots bedd, "bed," and rida, "rider."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Earlier this month, his lawyers said he had already been bedridden or in a wheelchair for a long time.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
This insight opens the possibility of developing medications that replicate the benefits of exercise, offering new hope for older adults, bedridden patients, and individuals with chronic illnesses who face a higher risk of fractures.
From Science Daily • Jan. 27, 2026
Over the next few days both pilots were bedridden, vomiting, with diarrhea, and tremors in their hands and legs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025
Kostiantyn's mother spends her days caring for his bedridden stepfather who has had a series of heart attacks linked to the conflict.
From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025
Now he was stuck in the middle of an increasingly acrimonious debate between the browbeating Lawrence and the bedridden Compton.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
