What does "bedpan" mean?

A pan used for urination and defecation while in bed, now usually for reasons of medical necessity or convenience.

What is a synonym for "bedpan"?

Common synonyms include: can, chamber, chamber pot, chamber pot, chemical closet, chemical toilet.

//ˈbɛdˌpæn// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
A pan used for urination and defecation while in bed, now usually for reasons of medical necessity or convenience.
"The nurse emptied the patient's bedpan each morning."
2
a shallow vessel used by a bedridden patient for defecation and urination wordnet

"The nurse brought in a bedpan for the patient who was unable to get out of bed to use the bathroom."

From bed + pan ("chamber pot").

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