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• bed
  bed

  noun

  a piece of furniture upon which or within which a person sleeps, rests, or stays when not well.
• B.Ed.
  B.Ed.

  abbreviation

  Bachelor of Education.
• BEd
  BEd

  abbreviation

  Bachelor of Education

bed

¹ American  

[bed] / bɛd /

noun

• beds
  plural

1. a piece of furniture upon which or within which a person sleeps, rests, or stays when not well.

2. the mattress and bedclothes together with the bedstead of a bed.

3. the bedstead alone.

4. the act of or time for sleeping.

   Now for a cup of cocoa and then bed.

5. the use of a bed for the night; lodging.

   I reserved a bed at the old inn.

6. the marital relationship.

7. any resting place.

   making his bed under a tree.

8. something resembling a bed in form or position.

9. a piece or area of ground in a garden or lawn in which plants are grown.

10. an area in a greenhouse in which plants are grown.

11. the plants in such areas.

12. the bottom of a lake, river, sea, or other body of water.

13. a piece or part forming a foundation or base.

14. a layer of rock; a stratum.

    Synonyms:

    deposit, lode, seam, stratification

15. a foundation surface of earth or rock supporting a track, pavement, or the like.

    a gravel bed for the roadway.

16. Building Trades.

    1. the underside of a stone, brick, slate, tile, etc., laid in position.

    2. the upper side of a stone laid in position.

    3. the layer of mortar in which a brick, stone, etc., is laid.

    4. the natural stratification of a stone.

       a stone laid on bed.

17. Furniture. skirt.

18. the flat surface in a printing press on which the form of type is laid.

19. Transportation. the body or, sometimes, the floor or bottom of a truck or trailer.

20. Chemistry. a compact mass of a substance functioning in a reaction as a catalyst or reactant.

21. Sports.

    1. the canvas surface of a trampoline.

    2. the smooth, wooden floor of a bowling alley.

    3. the slate surface of a billiard table to which the cloth is fastened.

22. Zoology. flesh enveloping the base of a claw, especially the germinative layer beneath the claw.

23. Also called mock.  Also called mock mold.  Shipbuilding. a shaped steel pattern upon which furnaced plates for the hull of a vessel are hammered to shape.

24. bed and board.

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verb (used with object)

• beds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bedded,
  past participle,  past
• bedding
  present participle

1. to provide with a bed.

2. to put to bed.

3. Horticulture. to plant in or as in a bed.

4. to lay flat.

5. to place in a bed or layer.

   to bed oysters.

6. to embed, as in a substance.

   bedding the flagstones in concrete.

7. to take or accompany to bed for purposes of sexual intercourse.

verb (used without object)

• beds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bedded,
  past participle,  past
• bedding
  present participle

1. to have sleeping accommodations.

   He says we can bed there for the night.

2. Geology. to form a compact layer or stratum.

3. (of a metal structural part) to lie flat or close against another part.

4. Archaic. to go to bed.

verb phrase

1. bed down

   1. to make a bed for (a person, animal, etc.).

   2. to retire to bed.

      They put out the fire and decided to bed down for the night.

idioms

1. make one's bed, to be responsible for one's own actions and their results.

   You've made your bed—now lie in it.

2. jump / get into bed with, to form a close, often temporary, alliance, usually with an unlikely ally.

   Industry was charged with jumping into bed with labor on the issue.

3. put to bed,

   1. to help (a child, invalid, etc.) go to bed.

   2. Printing. to lock up (forms) in a press in preparation for printing.

   3. to work on the preparation of (an edition of a newspaper, periodical, etc.) up to the time of going to press.

4. go to bed with, to have sexual intercourse with.

5. get up on the wrong side of the bed, to be irritable or bad-tempered from the start of a day.

   Never try to reason with him when he's gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.

6. in bed,

   1. beneath the covers of a bed.

   2. engaged in sexual intercourse.

7. go to bed,

   1. to retire, especially for the night.

   2. to engage in sexual relations.

8. make a bed, to fit a bed with sheets and blankets.

B.Ed. ² American  

abbreviation

1. Bachelor of Education.

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BEd ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. Bachelor of Education

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bed ² British  

/ bɛd /

noun

1. a piece of furniture on which to sleep

2. the mattress and bedclothes on such a piece of furniture

   an unmade bed

3. sleep or rest

   time for bed

4. any place in which a person or animal sleeps or rests

5. med a unit of potential occupancy in a hospital or residential institution

6. informal a place for sexual intercourse

7. informal sexual intercourse

8. a plot of ground in which plants are grown, esp when considered together with the plants in it

   a flower bed

9. the bottom of a river, lake, or sea

10. a part of this used for cultivation of a plant or animal

    oyster beds

11. a layer of crushed rock, gravel, etc, used as a foundation for a road, railway, etc

12. a layer of mortar in a masonry wall

13. the underside of a brick, tile, slate, etc, when in position Compare back 1

14. any underlying structure or part

15. a layer of rock, esp sedimentary rock

16. the flat part of a letterpress printing press onto or against which the type forme is placed

17. a layer of solid particles of an absorbent, catalyst, or reagent through which a fluid is passed during the course of a chemical reaction or other process

18. a machine base on which a moving part carrying a tool or workpiece slides

    lathe bed

19. a situation of comfort or ease

20. archaic to give birth (to)

21. 1. a situation or position of extreme difficulty

    2. a bed studded with nails on which a fakir lies

22. informal to be ill-tempered from the start of the day

23. 1. (often foll by with) to have sexual intercourse (with)

    2. journalism printing (of a newspaper, magazine, etc) to go to press; start printing

24. informal cooperating closely with (another person, organization, government, etc.) esp covertly

25. 1. journalism to finalize work on (a newspaper, magazine, etc) so that it is ready to go to press

    2. printing to lock up the type forme of (a publication) in the press before printing

26. to remain in bed, esp because of illness

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verb

1. (usually foll by down) to go to or put into a place to sleep or rest

2. (tr) to have sexual intercourse with

3. (tr) to place, fix, or sink firmly into position; embed

4. geology to form or be arranged in a distinct layer; stratify

5. to plant in a bed of soil

bed Scientific  

/ bĕd /

1. A layer of sediments or rock, such as coal, that extends under a large area and has a distinct set of characteristics that distinguish it from other layers below and above it.

2. The bottom of a body of water, such as a lake, stream, or ocean.

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bed More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing bed

• early to bed
• get up on the wrong side of bed
• go to bed with
• make one's bed and lie in it
• make the bed
• put to bed
• should have stood in bed
• strange bedfellows

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bedless
  adjective
• bedlike
  adjective
• interbed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• beds
  plural

Participles

• bedding
  present
• bedded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bed
  simple
• beds
  simple
• have bedded
  perfect
• has bedded
  perfect
• am bedding
  progressive
• are bedding
  progressive
• is bedding
  progressive
• have been bedding
  perfect progressive
• has been bedding
  perfect progressive

Past

• bedded
  simple
• had bedded
  perfect
• was bedding
  progressive
• were bedding
  progressive
• had been bedding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bed
  simple
• will have bedded
  perfect
• will be bedding
  progressive
• will have been bedding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bed

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English bedd; cognate with Old Frisian, Dutch bed, Old Saxon bed(de), Old High German betti ( German Bett ), Gothic badi, from unattested Germanic badjan (neuter); akin to Latin fodere “to dig,” Old Church Slavonic bodǫ, Lithuanian bedù “I pierce,” Welsh bedd “a grave”; presumably a bed was dug out in the ground

Explanation

Your bed is the piece of furniture you sleep on at night. One of a babysitter's most important tasks is telling kids when it's time to get into their beds. The bed you get into at bedtime is different from the garden bed you dig each spring, preparing to plant seeds. Another kind of bed is the one made of straw or hay that's tucked inside a barn and intended for animals to sleep on. A truck also has a bed — the open rear part you can fill with goods. To bed, or "bed down," is to put someone to bed or climb into bed yourself.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bed beds bedded bedding

The 25-year-old sleeps on a small camping bed in the Honghub office under a poster for “Her,” a 2013 movie about a man falling in love with an AI operating system.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

But Eavis has put those rumours to bed in a direct response to one Glastonbury-goer on social media.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

The message contrasted from that of a post Wietrzyk made earlier in the week that, according to the Athletic, also included a selfie of the athlete apparently in a hospital bed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026

Their boxer, Gus, was nestled in his usual spot at the foot of their bed when a glass door shattered in their sunroom.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

This time, Clare did not leap out of bed.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

The research team will now trial the feasibility of a mobile oyster hatchery, in the hope it could both supply oyster larvae to coastal communities and help rebuild oyster beds in various areas.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

Because Lululemon was running on a shoestring budget, Wilson rented one hotel room for them to share, with separate beds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

“It determines who gets access to beds, it determines how we are able to respond to the crisis on our streets.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 10, 2026

The Delafield Hotel is a charming boutique property with massive rooms, comfortable beds and bathrooms outfitted with Kohler rain showers and soaking hydrotherapy tubs.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

She knelt over one of the beds, groaning, digging at one of the plants with her hands.

From "Nory Ryan’s Song" by Patricia Reilly Giff

Dockweiler RV Park was No. 13 of the 15 places they’ve bedded down since the Eaton fire destroyed their Altadena home last year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 17, 2026

The dead are placed in a sealed vessel bedded with clover, hay and straw and equipped to regulate airflow, temperature and moisture.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026

Now the big changes have bedded with further refinements carried out two years ago.

From BBC ● May 12, 2025

As dusk approached, he bedded down at home in case the Israeli army advanced at nightfall.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2023

Fifty sows with farrows were penned in each, bedded upon the earth, while the boars lay outside—fewer by far, as those well-fatted were for the suitors’ table, fine pork, sent by the swineherd every day.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

Plan A is to spread bedding in the hallway behind two interior walls; Plan B is to move the family into the building's shared corridor; and Plan C is to head for the basement.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

Hundreds of volunteers hurried through the packed parking lot next to Bogota's largest stadium, forming human chains to pass donated water bottles, food provisions, sanitary products and bedding to the sorting area.

From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026

Tractor Supply is responding by lowering prices on some of its popular items, including pine shavings for animal bedding and premium pet-food.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

The next morning, she woke up to a "horrible realisation", feeling itchy with red lumps over her body and blood spots smeared on the bedding — the tell-tale signs of bed bugs, she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

Once a year everything touched by the Inka—clothing, garbage, bedding, saliva—was ceremonially burned.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• bunk
• cot
• couch
• crib
• mattress