hospital bed

American  

noun

• hospital beds
  plural

1. a bed having side rails that can be raised or lowered and a mattress base in three jointed sections so that the head, foot, or middle may be raised by a crank or motor, allowing a patient to lie in various positions, as a therapeutic aid or for comfort.

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• hospital beds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of hospital bed

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hospital bed

A sobbing girl, no more than six years old, sat alone on a hospital bed, her family yet to visit.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Standing beside her hospital bed, his mind drifts to Paris and to Penelope, the aspiring musician he married after falling hopelessly in love.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026

The second part of the series’ two-part finale, released Wednesday, concludes with the “Clarkson’s Farm” crew recapping the ups and downs of their harvest year and with the show’s namesake back in a hospital bed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026

Once, when a daredevil subordinate had landed in the hospital because of a bicycle racing accident, Raymond called him at his hospital bed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

Jonathan woke up four hours later, in a hospital bed.

From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret