bedstead

noun

bed·​stead ˈbed-ˌsted How to pronounce bedstead (audio)
: the framework of a bed

Examples of bedstead in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Calling it the Fair View, Mulrooney was meticulous in choosing the lace curtains, plush carpets, brass bedsteads and other finery that would make her new hotel the envy of the region’s other hoteliers, who housed most guests in rough dormitories. Melanie Haiken, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024 The Emerald Ridge room, for example, has original redwood-slat walls, an antique bedstead and river views, while the sunny Rhododendron boasts period wallpaper and a claw-foot tub. Jackie Burrell, The Mercury News, 8 Apr. 2024 Orwell typed for hours upstairs, sitting on his iron bedstead in a tatty dressing gown, chain-smoking shag tobacco. Stephen Metcalf, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2024 The only possible exit is a skylight, and the only means of reaching it is to build a tower from a bedstead and other bits of furniture. Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2023 My dad had rigged a ramp up to a derelict bedstead and boarded over the springs. Jeanette Winterson, The New Yorker, 4 June 2017 In guest rooms, fires and lamplight illuminate upholstered sleigh beds or traditional turned-wood New England bedsteads. Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2017 Our room’s vintage iron bedstead was set against walls painted a soft, saturated green. Jackie Burrell, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2017 One room boasts crimson walls and a large white wooden bedstead, with pretty floral bedding. Jackie Burrell, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2017

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bedstede, from bed + stede stead, place — more at stead entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bedstead was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near bedstead

Cite this Entry

“Bedstead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bedstead. Accessed 13 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

bedstead

noun
bed·​stead -ˌsted How to pronounce bedstead (audio)
: the framework of a bed

More from Merriam-Webster on bedstead

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