bed down


a piece of furniture upon which or within which a person sleeps, rests, or stays when not well.
the mattress and bedclothes together with the bedstead of a bed.
the bedstead alone.
the act of or time for sleeping: Now for a cup of cocoa and then bed.
the use of a bed for the night; lodging: I reserved a bed at the old inn.
the marital relationship.
any resting place: making his bed under a tree.
something resembling a bed in form or position.
a piece or area of ground in a garden or lawn in which plants are grown.
an area in a greenhouse in which plants are grown.
the plants in such areas.
the bottom of a lake, river, sea, or other body of water.
a piece or part forming a foundation or base.
a layer of rock; a stratum.
a foundation surface of earth or rock supporting a track, pavement, or the like: a gravel bed for the roadway.
Building Trades.
the underside of a stone, brick, slate, tile, etc., laid in position.
the upper side of a stone laid in position.
the layer of mortar in which a brick, stone, etc., is laid.
the natural stratification of a stone: a stone laid on bed.
Furniture. skirt ( def 6b ).
the flat surface in a printing press on which the form of type is laid.
Transportation. the body or, sometimes, the floor or bottom of a truck or trailer.
Chemistry. a compact mass of a substance functioning in a reaction as a catalyst or reactant.
the canvas surface of a trampoline.
the smooth, wooden floor of a bowling alley.
the slate surface of a billiard table to which the cloth is fastened.
Zoology. flesh enveloping the base of a claw, especially the germinative layer beneath the claw.
Also called mock, mock mold. Shipbuilding. a shaped steel pattern upon which furnaced plates for the hull of a vessel are hammered to shape.
verb (used with object), bedded, bedding.
to provide with a bed.
to put to bed.
Horticulture. to plant in or as in a bed.
to lay flat.
to place in a bed or layer: to bed oysters.
to embed, as in a substance: bedding the flagstones in concrete.
to take or accompany to bed for purposes of sexual intercourse.
verb (used without object), bedded, bedding.
to have sleeping accommodations: He says we can bed there for the night.
Geology. to form a compact layer or stratum.
(of a metal structural part) to lie flat or close against another part.
Archaic. to go to bed.
Verb phrases
bed down,
to make a bed for (a person, animal, etc.).
to retire to bed: They put out the fire and decided to bed down for the night.
get up on the wrong side of the bed, to be irritable or bad-tempered from the start of a day: Never try to reason with him when he's gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.
go to bed,
to retire, especially for the night.
to engage in sexual relations.
go to bed with, to have sexual intercourse with.
in bed,
beneath the covers of a bed.
engaged in sexual intercourse.
jump/get into bed with, to form a close, often temporary, alliance, usually with an unlikely ally: Industry was charged with jumping into bed with labor on the issue.
make a bed, to fit a bed with sheets and blankets.
make one's bed, to be responsible for one's own actions and their results: You've made your bed—now lie in it.
put to bed,
to help (a child, invalid, etc.) go to bed.
Printing. to lock up (forms) in a press in preparation for printing.
to work on the preparation of (an edition of a newspaper, periodical, etc.) up to the time of going to press.

before 1000; Middle English; Old English bedd; cognate with Old Frisian, Dutch bed, Old Saxon bed(de), Old High German betti (German Bett), Gothic badi < Germanic *badjan (neuter); akin to Latin fodere to dig, OCS bodǫ, Lithuanian bedù I pierce, Welsh bedd a grave; presumably a bed was dug out in the ground

bedless, adjective
bedlike, adjective
interbed, adjective

14. band, belt, seam, lode. Unabridged
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World English Dictionary
bed (bɛd)
1.  a piece of furniture on which to sleep
2.  the mattress and bedclothes on such a piece of furniture: an unmade bed
3.  sleep or rest: time for bed
4.  any place in which a person or animal sleeps or rests
5.  med a unit of potential occupancy in a hospital or residential institution
6.  informal a place for sexual intercourse
7.  informal sexual intercourse
8.  a plot of ground in which plants are grown, esp when considered together with the plants in it: a flower bed
9.  the bottom of a river, lake, or sea
10.  a part of this used for cultivation of a plant or animal: oyster beds
11.  a layer of crushed rock, gravel, etc, used as a foundation for a road, railway, etc
12.  a layer of mortar in a masonry wall
13.  Compare back the underside of a brick, tile, slate, etc, when in position
14.  any underlying structure or part
15.  a layer of rock, esp sedimentary rock
16.  the flat part of a letterpress printing press onto or against which the type forme is placed
17.  a layer of solid particles of an absorbent, catalyst, or reagent through which a fluid is passed during the course of a chemical reaction or other process
18.  a machine base on which a moving part carrying a tool or workpiece slides: lathe bed
19.  a bed of roses a situation of comfort or ease
20.  archaic to be brought to bed to give birth (to)
21.  bed of nails
 a.  a situation or position of extreme difficulty
 b.  a bed studded with nails on which a fakir lies
22.  informal get out of bed on the wrong side to be ill-tempered from the start of the day
23.  go to bed
 a.  (often foll by with) to have sexual intercourse (with)
 b.  journalism, printing (of a newspaper, magazine, etc) to go to press; start printing
24.  informal in bed with cooperating closely with (another person, organization, government, etc.) esp covertly
25.  put to bed
 a.  journalism to finalize work on (a newspaper, magazine, etc) so that it is ready to go to press
 b.  printing to lock up the type forme of (a publication) in the press before printing
26.  take to one's bed to remain in bed, esp because of illness
vb (often foll by out) , beds, bedding, bedded
27.  (usually foll by down) to go to or put into a place to sleep or rest
28.  (tr) to have sexual intercourse with
29.  (tr) to place, fix, or sink firmly into position; embed
30.  geology to form or be arranged in a distinct layer; stratify
31.  to plant in a bed of soil
[Old English bedd; related to Old Norse bethr, Old High German betti, Gothic badi]

abbreviation for
Bachelor of Education

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Word Origin & History

O.E. bedd "bed, couch, resting place, garden plot," from P.Gmc. *badjam "sleeping place dug in the ground" (cf. M.Du. bedde, O.N. beðr, O.H.G. betti, Ger. bett, Goth. badi), from PIE base *bhedh- "to dig, pierce" (cf. Hittite beda- "to pierce, prick," Gk. bothyros "pit," L. fossa "ditch," Lith. bedre
"to dig," Bret. bez "grave"). Both "sleeping" and "gardening" senses are in O.E. Meaning "bottom of a lake, sea, watercourse" is from 1580s. The verb meaning "to sleep with" is early 14c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

bed (běd)

  1. A piece of furniture for reclining and sleeping, typically consisting of a flat, rectangular frame and a mattress resting on springs.

  2. Such a piece of furniture used for rest, recuperation, or treatment.

  3. A supporting, underlying, or securing base or structure, especially an anatomical one.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
bed   (běd)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. A layer of sediments or rock, such as coal, that extends under a large area and has a distinct set of characteristics that distinguish it from other layers below and above it.

  2. The bottom of a body of water, such as a lake, stream, or ocean.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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American Heritage
Abbreviations & Acronyms
Bachelor of Education
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bible Dictionary

Bed definition

(Heb. mittah), for rest at night (Ex. 8:3; 1 Sam. 19:13, 15, 16, etc.); during sickness (Gen. 47:31; 48:2; 49:33, etc.); as a sofa for rest (1 Sam. 28:23; Amos 3:12). Another Hebrew word (er'es) so rendered denotes a canopied bed, or a bed with curtains (Deut. 3:11; Ps. 132:3), for sickness (Ps. 6:6; 41:3). In the New Testament it denotes sometimes a litter with a coverlet (Matt. 9:2, 6; Luke 5:18; Acts 5:15). The Jewish bedstead was frequently merely the divan or platform along the sides of the house, sometimes a very slight portable frame, sometimes only a mat or one or more quilts. The only material for bed-clothes is mentioned in 1 Sam. 19:13. Sleeping in the open air was not uncommon, the sleeper wrapping himself in his outer garment (Ex. 22:26,27; Deut. 24:12,13).

Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary
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