# bed

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɛd/ · frequency rank #893

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

## Easily confused with
- **by** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-by)
- **bi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bi)
- **BS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bs)
- **bo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bo)
- **br** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-br)
- **Bt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bt)
- **BP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bp)
- **bf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bf)
- **BL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bl)
- **BM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bm)
- **bn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bn)
- **BG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bg)
- **BJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bj)
- **BW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bw)
- **BH** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bh)
- **BX** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bx)
- **but** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-but)
- **big** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-big)
- **bit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-bit)
- **buy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bed-vs-buy)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bed