Dictionary Home » Dictionary Definitions » bed

bed

Listen See in Thesaurus See in a sentence

The definition of a bed is a piece of furniture on which to lie or sleep.

(noun)

King, queen and twin are each an example of a size of bed.

Bed is defined as to plant or arrange in soil in a certain manner.

(verb)

To plant flowers in a row in a garden is an example of to bed.

See bed in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a thing for sleeping or resting on; specif., a piece of furniture consisting usually of a bedstead, bedspring, mattress, and bedding
bedstead
bedtime
any place used for sleeping or reclining
such a place regarded as the scene of sexual intercourse or procreation
1. a plot of soil where plants are raised
2. the flowers or vegetables growing in this
1. the bottom of a river, lake, etc.
2. a place on the ocean floor where something grows in abundance: oyster bed
an enclosing substance, as rock in which shells, minerals, etc. are lodged
any flat surface used as a foundation or support, as the earth, gravel, etc. under the rails and ties of a railroad
1. a layer of cement or mortar in which stone or brick is laid
2. the underside of a brick, slate, or tile
a pile or heap resembling a bed, esp. in softness or shape: a bed of leaves
a geologic layer; stratum: a bed of coal
☆ the flat surface on which cargo is placed, as in a pickup or flatbed

Origin: ME & OE < IE base *bhedh-, to dig > Ger bett, L fossa, ditch, W bedd, Bret béz, a grave; orig. sense “a sleeping hollow in the ground”

transitive verb bedded, bedding

to provide with a sleeping place
to put to bed
to have sexual intercourse with
to fix or place firmly; embed
to plant or arrange in a bed of earth
to make (earth) into a bed for plants
to lay out flat like a bed; arrange in layers

intransitive verb

to go to bed; rest; sleep
to form in layers; stratify

or B.Ed.

Bachelor of Education

See bed in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

a. A piece of furniture for reclining and sleeping, typically consisting of a flat, rectangular frame and a mattress resting on springs.
b. A bedstead.
c. A mattress.
a. A place where one may sleep; lodging: found bed and board at an inn.
b. Accommodations for a single person at a hospital or institution: a maternity ward with 30 beds.
A time at which one goes to sleep: drank milk before bed.
A place for lovemaking.
A marital relationship with its rights and intimacies.
a. A small plot of cultivated or planted land: a flower bed.
b. An underwater or intertidal area in which a particular organism is established in large numbers: a clam bed; an oyster bed.
The bottom of a body of water, such as a stream.
A supporting, underlying, or securing part, especially:
a. A layer of food surmounted by another kind of food: tomatoes on a bed of lettuce.
b. A foundation of crushed rock or a similar substance for a road or railroad; a roadbed.
c. A layer of mortar upon which stones or bricks are laid.
Printing The heavy table of a printing press in which the type form is placed.
The part of a truck, trailer, or freight car designed to carry loads.
Geology
a. A rock mass of large horizontal extent bounded, especially above, by physically different material.
b. A deposit, as of ore, parallel to local stratification.
A heap of material: a bed of wood chips.

verb bed·ded, bed·ding, beds

verb, transitive

To furnish with a bed or sleeping quarters: We bedded our guests down in the study.
To put or send to bed.
To have sexual relations with.
To plant in a prepared plot of soil.
To lay flat or arrange in layers.
a. To embed.
b. To establish; base.

verb, intransitive