featherbed
Americanverb (used with or without object)
Etymology
Origin of featherbed
First recorded in 1945–50; back formation from featherbedding
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.
See Examples For:
On a featherbed pitch in Visakhapatnam, India posted a commanding 330 from 48.5 overs - the highest total Australia had ever conceded in an ODI.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025
The lights flickered on and weightlessness returned, cradling me like a featherbed.
From Nature ● Oct. 17, 2017
“The program has also become a kind of featherbed for parents who might have, in the past, considered redshirting their children.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2016
The pitch for that match was a slow featherbed which contributed to a bore draw.
From The Guardian ● May 19, 2013
We sat down and the grass felt heavenly, like a featherbed compared with the wagon floor.
From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys
Commuters have been "featherbedded" but other passengers have been hit hard, Doe argues.
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2013
A solid pension, good connections, membership of the right clubs, a contented, featherbedded old age.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 21, 2012
The couple's action-packed lifestyle comes thanks to their erstwhile employer, telecom company Pacific Bell, which featherbedded them into early retirement.
From Time ● Jun. 11, 2011
For all these superlatives, Conrail continues to hemorrhage money because its equipment was in worse shape and its labor force was more featherbedded than almost anyone in Washington had suspected.
From Time Magazine Archive
Actually, Petrillo's union is big and rich only because he has been able to keep it heavily featherbedded.
From Time Magazine Archive
This full-employment plan for kooks and hucksters gives new meaning to featherbedding.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 16, 2022
We can certainly find lots of instances of journalistic corruption -- fake quotes, fabricated stories, featherbedding etc.
From Fox News ● Sep. 16, 2020
The police have not defined their costs, and without a clear accounting of them, Wittenberg and other race promoters say they could end up becoming a victim of featherbedding.
From New York Times ● Feb. 9, 2011
When every joke about your business mentions featherbedding, you should be worried about outsourcing.
From Economist ● Dec. 16, 2010
"I did have a feeling," Dasinger admitted, "that Willata's Fleet was doing a little featherbedding when they said I'd have to hire a crew of three to go along with their speedboat."
From The Star Hyacinths by Virgil Finlay
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.
