bedfellow

noun

bed·​fel·​low ˈbed-ˌfe-(ˌ)lō 

1

: one who shares a bed with another

2

: a person or thing closely associated with another : ally

political bedfellows

—often used in the phrase strange bedfellows to describe an unlikely alliance of people or things

Politics indeed makes strange bedfellows and on the issue of local regulation of pesticides, environmental and states' rights advocates have joined forces.

—Elena S. Rutrick

Polities and good architecture are strange bedfellows, but in Barcelona the marriage has worked.

—Cathleen McGuigan

Synonyms of bedfellow

• supporter
• ally

Examples of bedfellow in a Sentence

a child-welfare cause that has made bedfellows of activists who are normally on opposite ends of the political spectrum

Recent Examples on the Web

Fashion and the art world have long been bedfellows, and haute couture in particular is as close to art as fashion gets, but there’s something else going on. — Fiona Sinclair Scott, CNN Money, 11 July 2026

Politics and sport have always been uneasy bedfellows, but until recently referees and other sport officials have rarely been dragged into the public discourse. — Graham Scott, New York Times, 9 July 2026

Strange bedfellows If evolution pushes puncture tools toward certain shapes to deal with specific jobs, what happens if tools from both an animal and plant have essentially the same job? — Philip Anderson, The Conversation, 8 July 2026

After the medical drama ended, Laurie returned to his comedy roots with a recurring role on Veep, developing a fiercely antagonistic chemistry with Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Selina Meyer as her running mate/rival/occasional bedfellow. — Danny Horn, Entertainment Weekly, 5 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for bedfellow

• marshmallow
• morello
• othello
• schoolfellow
• cello
• fellow
• jello
• mellow
• melo
• velo
• portobello
• violoncello

Kids Definition

bedfellow

noun

bed·​fel·​low ˈbed-ˌfel-ō 

: one who shares a bed with another