bed down

phrasal verb

bedded down; bedding down; beds down
1
: to lie down somewhere for sleep
There were so many people that some of us had to bed down in the living room.
2
: to provide (a person or animal) with a place to sleep
They bedded us down in the living room.
When the animals had been fed and bedded down, we went inside to eat dinner.

Examples of bed down in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The 73-year-old and her West Highland White Terrier, Dammy, had bedded down on a strip of grass between a bike trail and Arden Way in north Sacramento during the Sunday storm that was accompanied by 70 mph wind gusts. Theresa Clift, Sacramento Bee, 6 Feb. 2024 According to the agency, its conservation officers have worked with residents to block off areas where lions might bed down near homes. Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024 Hunt the Clear-Cuts Does like to bed down in cover such as broom sedge, young sweetgums and wax myrtle, which start growing within a year or two after an area has been cleared of timber. 67. Outdoor Life, 19 Nov. 2019 The blood-sucking parasites persistently bedded down in human hair and moved with hunter-gatherers from Asia into and throughout the Americas. Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian Magazine, 8 Nov. 2023 To the doctors’ frustration, the displaced have bedded down in courtyards, in corridors, and even atop roofs. Adam Rasgon, The New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2023 Migrant shelters in Mexico are jammed, leaving thousands of foreigners bedding down in city streets. Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, 20 Oct. 2023 The inferno blocked the escape route of those bedded down on the bottom deck. Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2023 During the middle of the day, deer bed down in areas where they won’t be bothered by predators. Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 26 Aug. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bed down.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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Cite this Entry

“Bed down.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bed%20down. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

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