bestead

[ bih-sted ]

/ bɪˈstɛd /

Save This Word!

verb (used with object), be·stead·ed, be·stead·ed or be·stead, be·stead·ing.

to help; assist; serve; avail.

QUIZ

SPRINT TO THE FINISH WITH THIS OLYMPICS QUIZ!

Compete in our Olympics quiz to see if you can take home the gold medal in Olympics knowledge.

Question 1 of 10

Where was the Olympics first held?

ancient Rome

ancient Greece

ancient Persia

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Meet Grammar Coach

Write or paste your essay, email, or story into Grammar Coach and get grammar help

Improve Your Writing

Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing

Origin of bestead

First recorded in 1575–85; be- + stead

Words nearby bestead

best-ball foursome, best-ball match, best bib and tucker, best boy, best-case, bestead, best-efforts selling, best end, bestest, best girl, besti

Other definitions for bestead (2 of 2)

bestead²

[ bih-sted ]

/ bɪˈstɛd /

adjective

Archaic. placed or situated, often unfavorably or in difficulty.

Origin of bestead

1300–50; Middle English bisted, bistad, equivalent to bibe- + sted, variant of stad placed <Old Norse staddr, past participle of stethja to place, derivative of stathr place

How to use bestead in a sentence

There was hardly to be found in all Southern Tennessee a more contented, shiftless, ill-bestead family than theirs.
Ramona|Helen Hunt Jackson
She said presently: Habundia, thou seest I am hard bestead; give me some good rede thereto.
The Water of the Wondrous Isles|William Morris
Thus, on all hands, I seemed to myself as sore bestead as ever man was, and on no side saw any hope of succour.
A Monk of Fife|Andrew Lang
Then were they all three on foot, and ever they saw the hart afore them passing weary and hard bestead.
Stories of King Arthur and His Knights|U. Waldo Cutler

But Joseph and Hyrum were harder bestead than ever I have been; and bolder men to boot.
From Sea to Sea|Rudyard Kipling