UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations'bed': /ˈbɛd/; 'BEd': /ˌbiːˈɛd/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/bɛd/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(bed)
bed/bɛd/USA pronunciationn., v.,bed•ded, bed•ding. n.
Furniture a piece of furniture on which one sleeps or rests:[countable]The hotel room had two double beds.
the act of or time for sleeping:[uncountable]It's time for bed!
an area of ground for growing plants:[countable]a flower bed.
Geography the bottom of a body of water:[countable]the sea bed.
[countable] an area on the bottom of a body of water that has a supply of plant or animal life: an oyster bed.
v.[~ + object]
to provide with or put to a bed:We bedded them for a week.
Idioms
Idiomsget up on the wrong side of the bed, to be cranky and fussy from the moment one awakes:He's mean today; he must have gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.
Idiomsgo to bed, [no object]
to retire, esp. for the night:They're really tired, let them go to bed.
Idiomsgo to bed with,[~ + object] to have sexual relations with:He just wants to go to bed with you.
Idiomsin bed,
beneath the covers of a bed:still in bed at two in the afternoon.
having sexual intercourse:found him in bed with his secretary.
Idiomsmake a bed, to fit a bed with sheets and blankets.
bed(bed),USA pronunciationn., v.,bed•ded, bed•ding. n.
Furniturea piece of furniture upon which or within which a person sleeps, rests, or stays when not well.
Furniturethe mattress and bedclothes together with the bedstead of a bed.
Furniturethe bedstead alone.
the act of or time for sleeping:Now for a cup of cocoa and then bed.
the use of a bed for the night; lodging:I reserved a bed at the old inn.
the marital relationship.
any resting place:making his bed under a tree.
something resembling a bed in form or position.
a piece or area of ground in a garden or lawn in which plants are grown.
an area in a greenhouse in which plants are grown.
the plants in such areas.
the bottom of a lake, river, sea, or other body of water.
a piece or part forming a foundation or base.
Geologya layer of rock; a stratum.
Civil Engineeringa foundation surface of earth or rock supporting a track, pavement, or the like:a gravel bed for the roadway.
Building
the underside of a stone, brick, slate, tile, etc., laid in position.
Buildingthe upper side of a stone laid in position.
the layer of mortar in which a brick, stone, etc., is laid.
Buildingthe natural stratification of a stone:a stone laid on bed.
Furnitureskirt (def. 6b).
Printingthe flat surface in a printing press on which the form of type is laid.
Transportthe body or, sometimes, the floor or bottom of a truck or trailer.
Chemistrya compact mass of a substance functioning in a reaction as a catalyst or reactant.
Sport
the canvas surface of a trampoline.
the smooth, wooden floor of a bowling alley.
the slate surface of a billiard table to which the cloth is fastened.
Zoologyflesh enveloping the base of a claw, esp. the germinative layer beneath the claw.
NauticalAlso called mock, mock mold.[Shipbuilding.]a shaped steel pattern upon which furnaced plates for the hull of a vessel are hammered to shape.
See bed and board.
Idiomsget 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.
Idiomsgo to bed:
to retire, esp. for the night.
to engage in sexual relations.
Idiomsgo to bed with, to have sexual intercourse with.
Idiomsin bed:
beneath the covers of a bed.
engaged in sexual intercourse.
Idiomsjump or 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.
Idiomsmake a bed, to fit a bed with sheets and blankets.
Idiomsmake one's bed, to be responsible for one's own actions and their results:You've made your bed--now lie in it.
put to bed:
to help (a child, invalid, etc.) go to bed.
Printingto lock up (forms) in a press in preparation for printing.
Printingto work on the preparation of (an edition of a newspaper, periodical, etc.) up to the time of going to press.
v.t.
to provide with a bed.
to put to bed.
Botany[Hort.]to plant in or as in a bed.
to lay flat.
to place in a bed or layer:to bed oysters.
to embed, as in a substance:bedding the flagstones in concrete.
to take or accompany to bed for purposes of sexual intercourse.
v.i.
to have sleeping accommodations:He says we can bed there for the night.
Geologyto form a compact layer or stratum.
Metallurgy(of a metal structural part) to lie flat or close against another part.
[Archaic.]to go to bed.
bed down:
to make a bed for (a person, animal, etc.).
to retire to bed:They put out the fire and decided to bed down for the night.
Gmc * 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
bef. 1000; Middle English; Old English bedd; cognate with Old Frisian, Dutch bed, Old Saxon bed(de), Old High German betti (German Bett), Gothic badi
Collocations: a [bunk, lofted, feather, four-poster, water, sofa] bed, bedded her [on their marriage night, after the ceremony], bed [linen, sheets, covers, posts], more...
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