What does "bedhead" mean?

The condition of having unkempt hair, generally as a result of having just woken up from sleep.

What is a synonym for "bedhead"?

Common synonyms include: bed hair, bed's head, head, head, headboard.

//ˈbɛd.hɛd// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Noun

1
The condition of having unkempt hair, generally as a result of having just woken up from sleep. colloquial, countable, uncountable
"Hand was looking flustered with me, though he was still only half-awake and his bedhead was ridiculous […]"
2
A vertical panel or board at the end of a bed where the pillow is placed. British
"Holonyms: bedstead; bedframe (sometimes comeronymous)"
3
The end of a bed where the pillow is placed, the head of the bed.
"Miss Macspleuchan, with a faint shriek, rang the bell at the bed-head violently; but before she or any one else could reach her, Lady Cecilia had fallen heavily on the floor, where she lay unconsciously, her maid falling down over her as she rushed into the room, alarmed by the sudden and violent ringing of the bell."

"Hand was looking flustered with me, though he was still only half-awake and his bedhead was ridiculous […]"

Etymology 1

From bed + head. Superficially similar to, but etymologically distinguishable from, forms built from -head.

Etymology 2

From Middle English bed-head, bedhede (also as beddeshed, beddes hede, beddes heed), equivalent to bed + head.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.