bedtime story
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of bedtime story
First recorded in 1885–90
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.
Princess Catherine was the first royal to tell a bedtime story on the channel, reading The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark to mark Children's Mental Health Week in 2022.
From BBC • Dec. 4, 2025
A spokesperson for Garbarino did not confirm the bedtime story in a statement, offering that he “briefly stepped out and inadvertently missed the vote.”
From Salon • May 22, 2025
“Dog Man” feels like a bedtime story made up by a dad, then rendered in a sweetly kiddie aesthetic.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 31, 2025
A 2022 BookTrust survey of over 2,000 low-income families in England, Wales and Northern Ireland found less than half of children under seven are being read a bedtime story.
From BBC • Jan. 21, 2025
“She’ll read you a bedtime story or sing to you.”
From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart
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.
