bed

/ˈbɛd/

//ˈbɛd// noun

"bed" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“bed” is in the everyday core of English, ranked #893 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#893
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

bed vs by
33% similar
bed vs bi
33% similar
bed vs BS
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for bed
PropertyValue
Headwordbed
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈbɛd/
Letters3
Frequency rank#893
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “bed” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). bed lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for bed is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈbɛd/. Corpus data places it at rank #893 in overall English word frequency, putting it firmly in the everyday core of the language. Wiktionary records 27 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

bed has no tracked misspelling variants, which points to an orthography that plays by predictable English rules. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "by", "bi", "BS", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *badją Proto-West Germanic *badi Old English bedd Middle English bed English bed Inherited from Middle English bed, bedde, from Old English bedd, from Proto-West Germanic *badi, from Proto-Germanic *badją (“resting-place, plot … The correct English form is bed, spelled B-E-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
  2. 2
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
  3. 3
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
  4. 4
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
  5. 5
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
  6. 6
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
  7. 7
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
  8. 8
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
  9. 9
    A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
  10. 10
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  11. 11
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  12. 12
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  13. 13
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  14. 14
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  15. 15
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  16. 16
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  17. 17
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  18. 18
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  19. 19
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  20. 20
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  21. 21
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  22. 22
    A place, or flat surface or layer, on which something else rests or is laid.
  23. 23
    A horizontal layer or surface.
  24. 24
    A horizontal layer or surface.
  25. 25
    A horizontal layer or surface.
  26. 26
    A horizontal layer or surface.
  27. 27
    A horizontal layer or surface.

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *badją Proto-West Germanic *badi Old English bedd Middle English bed English bed Inherited from Middle English bed, bedde, from Old English bedd, from Proto-West Germanic *badi, from Proto-Germanic *badją (“resting-place, plot of ground”). Cognates Cognate with Scots bed, North Frisian baad, beed, Bēr, Saterland Frisian Bääd, West Frisian bêd, Cimbrian pett, Dutch bed, Dutch Low Saxon bedde, German Bett, Bette, German Low German Bedd, Luxembourgish Bett, Vilamovian bet, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål bed, Faroese and Icelandic beð, beður, Norwegian Nynorsk bed, bedd, Swedish bädd, Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌳𐌹 (badi), all meaning “bed”. further possible etymology and cognates The Proto-Germanic term may in turn be from Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (“to dig”) with various theories explaining the development in meaning. If it is, the term is also cognate with Ancient Greek βοθυρος (bothuros, “pit”), Latin fossa (“ditch”), Latvian bedre (“hole”), Welsh bedd (“grave”), Breton bez (“grave”); and probably also Russian бодать (bodatʹ, “to butt, gore”).

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "bed"?
"bed" is spelled B-E-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈbɛd/.
What does "bed" mean?
As a noun, "bed" means: A piece of furniture, usually flat and soft, on which to rest or sleep.
What words are commonly confused with "bed"?
"bed" is commonly confused with "by", "bi", "BS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "bed"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "bed" is /ˈbɛd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "bed"?
Etymology tree Proto-Germanic *badją Proto-West Germanic *badi Old English bedd Middle English bed English bed Inherited from Middle English bed, bedde, from Old English bedd, from Proto-West Germanic *badi, from Proto-Germanic *badją (“resting-pl... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “bed”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is B-E-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ˈbɛd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “by” - see the side-by-side comparison. bed vs by
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list