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Entry 19 senses · 3 variants Webster, 1913

Bed

/bĕd/ · IPA /ˈbɛd/
01 n. An article of furniture to sleep or take rest in or on; a couch. Specifically: A sack or mattress, filled with some soft material, in disti…
  1. 1.
    An article of furniture to sleep or take rest in or on; a couch. Specifically: A sack or mattress, filled with some soft material, in distinction from the bedstead on which it is placed (as, a feather bed), or this with the bedclothes added. In a general sense, any thing or place used for sleeping or reclining on or in, as a quantity of hay, straw, leaves, or twigs.
    “And made for him [a horse] a leafy bed.” — Byron.
    “I wash, wring, brew, bake, . . . make the beds.” — Shak.
    “In bed he slept not for my urging it.” — Shak.
  2. 2.
    (Used as the symbol of matrimony) Marriage.
    “George, the eldest son of his second bed.” — Clarendon.
  3. 3.
    A plat or level piece of ground in a garden, usually a little raised above the adjoining ground.
  4. 4.
    A mass or heap of anything arranged like a bed; as, a bed of ashes or coals.
  5. 5.
    The bottom of a watercourse, or of any body of water; as, the bed of a river.
    “So sinks the daystar in the ocean bed.” — Milton.
  6. 6.
    A layer or seam, or a horizontal stratum between layers; as, a bed of coal, iron, etc.(Geol.)
  7. 7.
    See Gun carriage, and Mortar bed.(Gun.) See: Gun carriage, Mortar bed
  8. 8.
    The horizontal surface of a building stone; as, the upper and lower beds.(Masonry)
  9. 9.
    The foundation or the more solid and fixed part or framing of a machine; or a part on which something is laid or supported; as, the bed of an engine.(Mech.)
  10. 10.
    The superficial earthwork, or ballast, of a railroad.
  11. 11.
    The flat part of the press, on which the form is laid.(Printing)
Phrases & compounds
Bed of justice — the throne (F. lit bed) occupied by the king when sitting in one of his parliaments (judicial courts); hence, a session of a refractory parliament, at which the king was present for the purpose of causing his decrees to be registered.
To be brought to bed — to be delivered of a child; -- often followed by of; as, to be brought to bed of a son.
To make a bed — to prepare a bed; to arrange or put in order a bed and its bedding.
From bed and board — a phrase applied to a separation by partial divorce of man and wife, without dissolving the bonds of matrimony. If such a divorce (now commonly called a judicial separation) be granted at the instance of the wife, she may have alimony.
02 v. t. To place in a bed.
imp. & p. p. Bedded; p. pr. & vb. n. Bedding
  1. 1.
    To place in a bed.[Obs.]
  2. 2.
    To make partaker of one's bed; to cohabit with.
    “I'll to the Tuscan wars, and never bed her.” — Shak.
  3. 3.
    To furnish with a bed or bedding.
  4. 4.
    To plant or arrange in beds; to set, or cover, as in a bed of soft earth; as, to bed the roots of a plant in mold.
  5. 5.
    To lay or put in any hollow place, or place of rest and security, surrounded or inclosed; to embed; to furnish with or place upon a bed or foundation; as, to bed a stone; it was bedded on a rock.
    “Among all chains or clusters of mountains where large bodies of still water are bedded.” — Wordsworth.
  6. 6.
    To dress or prepare the surface of stone) so as to serve as a bed.(Masonry)
  7. 7.
    To lay flat; to lay in order; to place in a horizontal or recumbent position.
03 v. i. To go to bed; to cohabit.
  1. 1.
    To go to bed; to cohabit.
    “If he be married, and bed with his wife.” — Wiseman.