Bed

/bɛd/ noun, verb

noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
  • Grammar: bed is listed as noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: layer, a world-without-end bargain, accommodation, accommodations.
  • Useful contrasts: awake, daybeds, detach.
  • Usage evidence: Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed.

How to use "bed"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bed" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bed" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bed" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bed" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "bed" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "layer" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "bed", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep. countable

    "My cat often sleeps on my bed."

  2. 2
    Alternative form of B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education). alt-of, alternative
  3. 3
    a piece of furniture that provides a place to sleep wordnet
  4. 4
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.; A prepared spot in which to spend the night. countable, uncountable

    "When camping, he usually makes a bed for the night from hay and a blanket."

  5. 5
    Initialism of banana equivalent dose. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Show 33 more definitions
  1. 6
    a plot of ground in which plants are growing wordnet
  2. 7
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.; One's place of sleep or rest. countable, uncountable, usually

    "Go to bed!"

  3. 8
    Initialism of binge eating disorder. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
  4. 9
    a foundation of earth or rock supporting a road or railroad track wordnet
  5. 10
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.; Sleep; rest; getting to sleep. uncountable, usually

    "He's been afraid of bed since he saw the scary film."

  6. 11
    the flat surface of a printing press on which the type form is laid in the last stage of producing a newspaper or magazine or book etc. wordnet
  7. 12
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.; The time for going to sleep or resting in bed; bedtime. uncountable, usually

    "I read until bed."

  8. 13
    single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance wordnet
  9. 14
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.; Time spent in a bed. uncountable

    "I am quite sure that too much bed, if not too much sleep, is prejudicial, though a certain amount is absolutely necessary."

  10. 15
    a stratum of ore or coal thick enough to be mined with profit wordnet
  11. 16
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.; Marriage. countable, figuratively, uncountable

    "George, the eldest son of his second bed."

  12. 17
    a depression forming the ground under a body of water wordnet
  13. 18
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.; Sexual activity. figuratively, uncountable

    "Too much bed, not enough rest."

  14. 19
    (geology) a stratum of rock (especially sedimentary rock) wordnet
  15. 20
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.; Clipping of bedroom. abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, uncountable

    "2 beds, 1 bath"

  16. 21
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid. countable, uncountable

    "The meats and cheeses lay on a bed of lettuce."

  17. 22
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; The bottom of a body of water, such as an ocean, sea, lake, or river. countable

    "sea bed"

  18. 23
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; An area where a large number of oysters, mussels, other sessile shellfish, or a large amount of seaweed is found. countable, uncountable

    "Oysters are farmed from their beds."

  19. 24
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; A garden plot. countable, uncountable

    "We added a new bush to our rose bed."

  20. 25
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; A foundation or supporting surface formed of a fluid. countable, uncountable

    "A bed of concrete makes a strong subsurface for an asphalt parking lot."

  21. 26
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; The superficial earthwork, or ballast, of a railroad. countable, uncountable
  22. 27
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; The platform of a truck, trailer, wagon, railcar, or other vehicle that supports the load to be hauled. Canada, US, countable, uncountable

    "The parcels were loaded onto the truck bed before transportation."

  23. 28
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; A shaped piece of timber to hold a cask clear of a ship’s floor; a pallet. countable, uncountable
  24. 29
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; The flat part of the press, on which the form is laid. countable, dated, uncountable
  25. 30
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; The flat surface of a scanner on which a document is placed to be scanned. countable, uncountable
  26. 31
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; A piece of music, normally instrumental, over which a radio DJ talks. countable, uncountable
  27. 32
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; Any of the sections of a dartboard with a point value, delimited by a wire. countable, uncountable
  28. 33
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.; The taut surface of a trampoline. countable, uncountable

    "These 5 judges mark the athlete's staying in the center of the bed, uniformity of bounce heights, and general style."

  29. 34
    A horizontal layer or surface.; A deposit of ore, coal, etc. countable, uncountable
  30. 35
    A horizontal layer or surface.; The smallest division of a geologic formation or stratigraphic rock series marked by well-defined divisional planes (bedding planes) separating it from layers above and below. countable
  31. 36
    A horizontal layer or surface.; The horizontal surface of a building stone. countable, uncountable

    "the upper and lower beds"

  32. 37
    A horizontal layer or surface.; The lower surface of a brick, slate, or tile. countable, uncountable
  33. 38
    A horizontal layer or surface.; A course of stone or brick in a wall. countable, uncountable
Verb
  1. 1
    Senses relating to a bed as a place for resting or sleeping.; To go to bed; to put oneself to sleep. intransitive

    "I usually listen to music before I bed."

  2. 2
    prepare for sleep wordnet
  3. 3
    Senses relating to a bed as a place for resting or sleeping.; To place in a bed. transitive

    "For she was not only publicly contracted, but stated as a bride, and solemnly bedded, and after she was laid, there came in Maximilian's ambassador with letters of procuration"

  4. 4
    have sexual intercourse with wordnet
  5. 5
    Senses relating to a bed as a place for resting or sleeping.; To furnish with a bed or bedding. transitive
Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    put to bed wordnet
  2. 7
    Senses relating to a bed as a place for resting or sleeping.; To have sex (with). ambitransitive

    "And he who lies with another Man's Wife after she is married, even before her Husband had bedded with her, is guilty of Adultery, […]"

  3. 8
    place (plants) in a prepared bed of soil wordnet
  4. 9
    Senses relating to a bed as a place for resting or sleeping.; Of large game animals: to be at rest. intransitive
  5. 10
    furnish with a bed wordnet
  6. 11
    Senses relating to a bed as a place or layer on which something else rests or is laid.; To lay or put in any hollow place, or place of rest and security, surrounded or enclosed; to embed. transitive

    "1810/1835, William Wordsworth, Guide to the Lakes Among all chains or clusters of mountains where large bodies of still water are bedded."

  7. 12
    Senses relating to a bed as a place or layer on which something else rests or is laid.; To set in a soft matrix, as paving stones in sand, or tiles in cement. transitive
  8. 13
    Senses relating to a bed as a place or layer on which something else rests or is laid.; To set out (plants) in a garden bed. transitive
  9. 14
    Senses relating to a bed as a place or layer on which something else rests or is laid.; To dress or prepare the surface of (stone) so it can serve as a bed. transitive
  10. 15
    Senses relating to a bed as a place or layer on which something else rests or is laid.; To lay flat; to lay in order; to place in a horizontal or recumbent position. transitive

    "Your bedded hair like life in excrements"

  11. 16
    Senses relating to a bed as a place or layer on which something else rests or is laid.; To settle, as machinery.

Synonyms

All synonyms
layera world-without-end bargainaccommodationaccommodationsalliancealpine garden

Antonyms

awakedaybedsdetachdig up

Example

"Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed."

Common questions

What does "bed" mean?

A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.

What is a synonym for "bed"?

Common synonyms include: layer, a world-without-end bargain, accommodation, accommodations, alliance, alpine garden.

How do you use "bed" in a sentence?

Don't stay in bed, unless you can make money in bed.

How do you pronounce "bed"?

Pronounced /bɛd/.

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English bed, bedde, from Old English bedd, from Proto-West Germanic *badi, from Proto-Germanic *badją (“resting-place, plot of ground”). Cognates Cognate with Scots bed, North Frisian baad, beed, Bēr, Saterland Frisian Bääd, West Frisian bêd, Cimbrian pett, Dutch bed, Dutch Low Saxon bedde, German Bett, Bette, German Low German Bedd, Luxembourgish Bett, Vilamovian bet, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål bed, Faroese and Icelandic beð, beður, Norwegian Nynorsk bed, bedd, Swedish bädd, Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌳𐌹 (badi), all meaning “bed”. further possible etymology and cognates The Proto-Germanic term may in turn be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to dig”) with various theories explaining the development in meaning. If it is, the term is also cognate with Ancient Greek βοθυρος (bothuros, “pit”), Latin fossa (“ditch”), Latvian bedre (“hole”), Welsh bedd (“grave”), Breton bez (“grave”); and probably also Russian бодать (bodatʹ, “to butt, gore”).

More for "bed"

Synonyms

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