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Beds

[bedz]
||

noun

Bedfordshire.

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RELATED WORDS

bunk, mattress, cot, crib, couch, frame, row, piece, garden, area, ground, seat, berth, bassinet, sack, platform, cradle, davenport, divan, pallet

bed

[bed]

noun

a piece of furniture upon which or within which a person sleeps, rests, or stays when not well.
the mattress and bedclothes together with the bedstead of a bed.
the bedstead alone.
the act of or time for sleeping: Now for a cup of cocoa and then bed.
the use of a bed for the night; lodging: I reserved a bed at the old inn.
the marital relationship.
any resting place: making his bed under a tree.
something resembling a bed in form or position.
a piece or area of ground in a garden or lawn in which plants are grown.
an area in a greenhouse in which plants are grown.
the plants in such areas.
the bottom of a lake, river, sea, or other body of water.
a piece or part forming a foundation or base.
a layer of rock; a stratum.
a foundation surface of earth or rock supporting a track, pavement, or the like: a gravel bed for the roadway.
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.
Furniture. skirt(def 6b).
the flat surface in a printing press on which the form of type is laid.
Transportation. the body or, sometimes, the floor or bottom of a truck or trailer.
Chemistry. a compact mass of a substance functioning in a reaction as a catalyst or reactant.
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.
Zoology. flesh enveloping the base of a claw, especially the germinative layer beneath the claw.
Also called mock, mock mold. Shipbuilding. a shaped steel pattern upon which furnaced plates for the hull of a vessel are hammered to shape.
bed and board.

verb (used with object), bed·ded, bed·ding.

to provide with a bed.
to put to bed.
Horticulture. to plant in or as in a bed.
to lay flat.
to place in a bed or layer: to bed oysters.
to embed, as in a substance: bedding the flagstones in concrete.
to take or accompany to bed for purposes of sexual intercourse.

verb (used without object), bed·ded, bed·ding.

to have sleeping accommodations: He says we can bed there for the night.
Geology. to form a compact layer or stratum.
(of a metal structural part) to lie flat or close against another part.
Archaic. to go to bed.

Verb Phrases

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.

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 for bed

14. band, belt, seam, lode.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for beds

Contemporary Examples of beds

Historical Examples of beds

  • The man assented to her argument, and went to look out the two beds she wanted.

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • They saw potio in sight again; and, immediately, long grass for beds.

    The Leopard Woman

    Stewart Edward White

  • Then they lay down again upon the beds and talked together as to what they should do.

    Fair Margaret

    H. Rider Haggard

  • It was terrible, it was wicked to talk of people making their own beds and then lying in them.

    It Happened in Egypt

    C. N. Williamson

  • The married men have given their beds to girls who are drowned out.

    It Happened in Egypt

    C. N. Williamson

British Dictionary definitions for beds

Beds

abbreviation for

Bedfordshire

BEd

abbreviation for

Bachelor of Education

bed

noun

a piece of furniture on which to sleep
the mattress and bedclothes on such a piece of furniturean unmade bed
sleep or resttime for bed
any place in which a person or animal sleeps or rests
med a unit of potential occupancy in a hospital or residential institution
informal a place for sexual intercourse
informal sexual intercourse
a plot of ground in which plants are grown, esp when considered together with the plants in ita flower bed
the bottom of a river, lake, or sea
a part of this used for cultivation of a plant or animaloyster beds
a layer of crushed rock, gravel, etc, used as a foundation for a road, railway, etc
a layer of mortar in a masonry wall
the underside of a brick, tile, slate, etc, when in positionCompare back 1 (def. 12)
any underlying structure or part
a layer of rock, esp sedimentary rock
the flat part of a letterpress printing press onto or against which the type forme is placed
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
a machine base on which a moving part carrying a tool or workpiece slideslathe bed
a bed of roses a situation of comfort or ease
to be brought to bed archaic to give birth (to)
bed of nails
  1. a situation or position of extreme difficulty
  2. a bed studded with nails on which a fakir lies
get out of bed on the wrong side informal to be ill-tempered from the start of the day
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
in bed with informal cooperating closely with (another person, organization, government, etc.) esp covertly
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
take to one's bed to remain in bed, esp because of illness

verb beds, bedding or bedded

(usually foll by down) to go to or put into a place to sleep or rest
(tr) to have sexual intercourse with
(tr) to place, fix, or sink firmly into position; embed
geology to form or be arranged in a distinct layer; stratify
(tr often foll by out) to plant in a bed of soil
See also bed in

Word Origin for bed

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

bed

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.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for beds

bed

[bĕd]

n.

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

bed

[bĕd]

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.
The bottom of a body of water, such as a lake, stream, or ocean.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with beds

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
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.