Deathbed

noun

noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The bed on which someone dies.

    "He was once on his way to an old woman, who was on her death-bed and who had led a wicked life."

  2. 2
    the bed on which a person dies wordnet
  3. 3
    The last hours before death.
  4. 4
    the last few hours before death wordnet
  5. 5
    A grave; the site of a burial or entombment.

    "“Will you ask our oldest warriors to build me a barrow? Ask them to climb this headland and build me a death pile high on its top. Let my deathbed rise high above Hronesnesse.”"

Synonyms

All synonyms
agonydeath agoniesdeath groandeath rattledeath struggledeath throes

Example

More examples

"On his deathbed he asked me to continue writing to you."

Etymology

From Middle English dethbed, from Old English dēaþbedd (“deathbed; grave”), equivalent to death + bed. Cognate with Swedish dödsbädd (“deathbed”). Compare also Dutch sterfbed (“deathbed”), German Sterbebett and Totenbett (both “deathbed”), Danish dødsleje (“deathbed”).

Related phrases

deathbed conversionon one's deathbed

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