bedridden

adjective

bed·​rid·​den ˈbed-ˌri-dᵊn 

variants or less commonly bedrid

ˈbed-ˌrid 

: confined (as by illness) to bed

Examples of bedridden in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the evacuation of Ms. Savchenko and a bedridden neighbor from this mining town, in the Pokrovsk district of Donetsk, brings relief to their social worker. —Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Sep. 2024

The dead-eyed, bedridden Sam is a far cry from the easygoing young woman who interviews for an au pair job with a Toronto police officer, Cameron (Jason Jones), to care for his 12-year-old daughter Brooke, while her mother is hospitalized with a terminal illness. —Katie Walsh, Twin Cities, 7 June 2024

Grover Tully The old, bedridden Lord of Riverrun, who is only mentioned and never seen. —Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 5 Aug. 2024

Each sibling is struggling in their own way — the Rumor has lost her powers, the White Violin is bedridden after a serious injury and Spaceboy is near-catatonic. —Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 8 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

alteration of Middle English bedrede, bedreden, from Old English bedreda, from bedreda one confined to bed, from bedd bed + -rida, -reda, from rīdan to ride — more at bed entry 1, ride entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bedridden

adjective

bed·​rid·​den ˈbed-ˌrid-ᵊn 

: forced to stay in bed especially by illness or weakness

Medical Definition

bedridden

adjective

bed·​rid·​den ˈbed-ˌrid-ᵊn 

variants also bedrid

-ˌrid 

: confined to bed (as by illness)