Bedkey
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An instrument for adjusting the tightness of parts of a bedstead. historical
"There didn't seem to be much furniture in the house, but when we began to move it, it at once seemed to multiply itself with the rapidity of compound interest. We got all the clothes out first, in drawers and clothes-baskets, and tied up in sheets. Eliza wasn't much use. The only thing she could do was to look for a bed-key to unscrew the iron bedsteads; but Oswald and Dicky toiled on."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"There didn't seem to be much furniture in the house, but when we began to move it, it at once seemed to multiply itself with the rapidity of compound interest. We got all the clothes out first, in drawers and clothes-baskets, and tied up in sheets. Eliza wasn't much use. The only thing she could do was to look for a bed-key to unscrew the iron bedsteads; but Oswald and Dicky toiled on."
Etymology
From bed + key.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.