bedstead
noun
bed·stead
ˈbed-ˌsted 
plural bedsteads
: a structure designed to support a mattress : bed frame
Examples of bedstead in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Inside, there’s an austere bedstead, ladder-back chairs, a cast-iron stove, and a wooden pegboard running along the walls—all sourced from a village near Albany.
—
Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
The substantial rails are inspired by 20th-century iron bedsteads, but the color pop is very much a modern twist.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 1 Aug. 2025
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
In guest rooms, fires and lamplight illuminate upholstered sleigh beds or traditional turned-wood New England bedsteads.
—Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2017
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Michael Schulman, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025
The substantial rails are inspired by 20th-century iron bedsteads, but the color pop is very much a modern twist.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 1 Aug. 2025
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
In guest rooms, fires and lamplight illuminate upholstered sleigh beds or traditional turned-wood New England bedsteads.
—Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Oct. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Bedstead.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bedstead. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bedstead
noun
bed·stead
-ˌsted
: the framework of a bed
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