BDSM

abbreviation or noun

ˌbē-ˌdē-ˌes-ˈem 

: sexual activity involving such practices as the use of physical restraints, the granting and relinquishing of control, and the infliction of pain

He provided a vivid insight into the life of a dedicated follower of bondage, discipline, sadism and masochism (BDSM) as he gave evidence to his trial at Guildford Crown Court.

—Sam Marsden

BDSM refers to a range of sexual preferences that generally relate to enjoyment of physical control, psychological control, and/or pain.

—Ali Hebert and Angela Weaver

Whatever one thinks of BDSM, given the pain and intensity associated with it, it certainly doesn't come across as a stress-reducing activity—to most outsiders, there wouldn't appear to be anything relaxing about whips and handcuffs.

—Roni Jacobson

BDSM communities have been quick to distance themselves from Fifty Shades, and, indeed, from any beliefs or behaviours incompatible with informed, enthusiastic and uncoerced consent.

—Emer O'Toole

Examples of BDSM in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Cathy's red latex gowns and leather corsets might underline the BDSM push and pull of her torrid romance with Heathcliff in the second half of the film. —Madeline Hirsch, InStyle, 17 Feb. 2026

Also screening at the fest is Harry Lighton’s kinky BDSM romance Pillion, led by Alexander Skarsgard and Harry Melling and Alex Burunova’s Satisfaction, a study of the creative tension between two British composers with Laird and Whitehead. —Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 17 Feb. 2026

Heathcliff sticks his fingers in a broken egg, Cathy watches her servants enjoying a BDSM moment in the stables while Heathcliff covers her mouth and eyes. —Meg Walters, Glamour, 16 Feb. 2026

In the movie, Cathy discovers her sexuality while watching two household staff members engage in BDSM with horse bridles. —Clare Mulroy, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026

The script also stirs in a BDSM tryst between two servants in a stable. —Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2026

For the entire 15-minute show, they’ve been contorted into pieces of furniture Lawson fabricated, pieces befitting something between an asylum and BDSM dungeon, and reminiscent of Allen Jones’s 1960s Pop sculpture series, which depicts fiberglass women in fetishware as home objects. —Anna Peele, Vanity Fair, 6 Feb. 2026

In the film, Skarsgård plays a member of a gay biker gang who enters into a BDSM relationship with Melling's character, who has no experience in that world. —Mike Miller, Entertainment Weekly, 6 Feb. 2026

Melling first broke out for his role as Dudley Dursley in the Harry Potter films, a far cry from the world of BDSM. —Leigh Nordstrom, Footwear News, 5 Feb. 2026

Word History

Etymology

bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism

Note: The d and s have also been taken to stand for dominance and submission.

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above