bedside

American  

[bed-sahyd] / ˈbɛdˌsaɪd /

noun

1. the side of a bed, especially as the place of one attending the sick.

---

adjective

1. at or for a bedside.

   a bedside table.

bedside British  

/ ˈbɛdˌsaɪd /

noun

1. 1. the space by the side of a bed, esp of a sick person

   2. ( as modifier )

      a bedside lamp

      a doctor's bedside manner

---

Etymology

Origin of bedside

1325–75; Middle English; originally bed + 's ¹ + side ¹

Example Sentences

I always have on my bedside table a book that I read before going to sleep and, again, if I awaken in the middle of the night.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

"The committee would visit the patient's bedside to put that member under considerable pressure to abstain from blood in all cases," Evans said.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

Whittaker caught a flight to L.A. and was at the senator’s hospital bedside when he died and then served as a pallbearer at the funeral.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Maybe slip it onto your wife’s bedside table.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

Axel sits up, turns on his own bedside light.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers