bedtime story

noun

Definition of bedtime storynext
as in short story

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of bedtime story For instance, the question of whether parents should allow AI to read bedtime stories to their children varies depending on how parents view the purpose of story time. — Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 11 June 2026 Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa, reads his sloths a bedtime story every night, Wallach said. — Miami Herald, 4 June 2026 Stars like Buzz Aldrin, Whoopi Goldberg and Mick Jagger certainly have endless bedtime story material to share with their great-grandchildren. — Zoey Lyttle, PEOPLE, 22 May 2026 In testimony Monday, Woodall described being made to undress in Kiesle’s rectory bedroom during a sleepover as a fifth-grader, before being molested alongside another child as part of a role-playing bedtime story. — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 22 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for bedtime story
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bedtime story
  1. short story
  2. yarn
  3. narrative
  4. record
  5. history
  6. fairy tale
Noun
  • The program pairs mentors and students to develop short stories that will be performed on stage by actors at the culmination of each school’s program.
    — Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 29 Oct. 2026
  • The world of June Marple, the elderly amateur detective Christie featured in a dozen novels and 20 short stories, is considerably quainter.
    — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of short story
Noun
  • Before pumpkins can be recycled, participants should remove all decorations, including paint, candles, yarn hair, stickers, googly eyes and plastic accessories, event organizers said.
    — Aurora Beacon-News, Chicago Tribune, 30 Oct. 2026
  • While Arctic Textile Mills has no direct relationship with Hugo Boss, the manufacturer supplies yarn and fabric to Beacon Impex and Masood Textile Mills, both of which are Hugo Boss suppliers, according to public records.
    — Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of yarn
Noun
  • Those narratives, of course, were only knowable after the fact.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2026
  • Despite an occasional groan of narrative machinery, Vavrek ably repaces Saunders’s story line and carries its texty voices into song.
    — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of narrative
Noun
  • But compared to the majority of her work, which sprawls on the scale of landscapes, the compositions on this new record play out as finely filigreed miniatures.
    — Sasha Geffen, Pitchfork, 3 Nov. 2026
  • In his comeback bid, Brown is trying to chart his own course and steer clear of national politics, emphasizing his record of taking on corporate interests.
    — Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of record
Noun
  • The latest public records trove from the federal government details spooky — yet, unverified — history of UFOs on Catalina?
    — Andrew J. Campa, Los Angeles Times, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Here’s a closer look at where those marks rank in UM history.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of history
Noun
  • For one night, partygoers got to revel in a fairy tale where women ruled the world.
    — Serena Turner, Vanity Fair, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The juxtaposition of Prikryl’s family with Cordelia’s reveals the overlap of tragedy, fairy tale, and soap opera.
    — Langdon Hammer, New Yorker, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of fairy tale

Browse Nearby Words

bedtime stories
bedtime story
bee
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Bedtime story.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bedtime%20story. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of quondam

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All