/hot"bed'/ , n. , v. , hotbedded, hotbedding .
n.
1. a bottomless, boxlike, usually glass-covered structure and the bed of earth it covers, heated typically by fermenting manure or electrical cables, for growing plants out of season.
2. a place or environment favoring rapid growth or spread, esp. of something disliked or unwanted: a hotbed of disease.
3. Slang. a bed shared by two or more persons in shifts, each sleeping in it for or at a designated time and then vacating it for the next occupant.
v.i.
4. Slang. to share a bed in shifts, so that it is always occupied.
[ 1620-30; HOT + BED ]