/ bed; NAmE / noun , verb
■ noun
FURNITURE
1.
[ C , U ] a piece of furniture for sleeping on :
a single / double bed
She lay on the bed (= on top of the covers) .
He lay in bed (= under the covers) .
I'm tired—I'm going to bed .
It's time for bed (= time to go to sleep) .
I'll just put the kids to bed .
He likes to have a mug of cocoa before bed (= before going to bed) .
to get into / out of bed
to make the bed (= arrange the covers in a tidy way)
Could you give me a bed for the night (= somewhere to sleep) ?
There's a shortage of hospital beds (= not enough room for patients to be admitted) .
He has been confined to bed with flu for the past couple of days.
—see also air bed , camp bed , sofa bed , twin bed , waterbed
OF RIVER / LAKE / SEA
2.
[ C ] the bottom of a river, the sea, etc. :
the ocean bed
oyster beds (= an area in the sea where there are many oysters )
FOR FLOWERS / VEGETABLES
3.
[ C ] an area of ground in a garden / yard or park for growing flowers, vegetables, etc. :
flower beds
—see also seedbed
BOTTOM LAYER
4.
[ C ] bed of sth a layer of sth that other things lie or rest on :
grilled chicken, served on a bed of rice
The blocks should be laid on a bed of concrete.
GEOLOGY
5.
[ C ] a layer of clay , rock, etc. in the ground
—see also bedrock
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IDIOMS
- (not) a bed of roses
- get out of bed on the wrong side
- go to bed with sb
- in bed
- you've made your bed and you must lie in / on it
- take to your bed
—more at die verb , wet verb
■ verb ( -dd- ) [ vn ]
1.
bed sth (in sth) to fix sth firmly in sth :
The bricks were bedded in sand to improve drainage.
Make sure that you bed the roots firmly in the soil.
2.
( old-fashioned ) to have sex with sb
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PHRASAL VERBS
- bed down
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English bed , bedd (noun), beddian (verb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch bed and German Bett .