abed
/əˈbɛd/obsolete
abed is spelled A-B-E-D: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data, counting Abed, the name). As an adverb, abed means “In bed, or on the bed; confined to bed” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in abed?
| Letters | 4: A-B-E-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 35,748th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is abed?
Abed appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 35,748th most frequent word form in the list. The list counts every capitalisation together, so this includes Abed, the name.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce abed?
- UK /əˈbɛd/
- US /əˈbɛd/
Abed has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-abed.wav, En-ca-abed.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with abed?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as abed from its last stressed vowel (/ɛd/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: bead.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
What does abed mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
archaicIn bed, or on the bed; confined to bed.
- 2
archaicOn a childbed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Abed in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in bed, or on the bed:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does abed come from?
From Middle English abedde, o bedde, from Old English on (“in”) + bedde (“bed”). Equivalent to a- (“in, on”) + bed.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).