bed
Definition
A piece of furniture for sleeping on
To remember it
Picture the fluffy white clouds in this sky as a soft, cozy bed for the sun. Think of how you might want to curl up in such a comfy place.
Examples
- A1
I go to bed at ten o'clock every night because I need to get up early for school in the morning.
- A1
The bed in the hotel room was very comfortable and I slept very well for the first time in weeks.
- A2
She planted a flower bed in the garden with roses, tulips, and other colorful spring flowers.
- A2
The river bed was visible in summer because the water level had dropped so low due to the drought.
- B1
Sleep science: the bed is the site of sleep — one of the most important biological processes; sleep consists of cycles of NREM (non-rapid eye movement) and REM (rapid eye movement) stages; NREM stages progress from light sleep to deep slow-wave sleep; REM sleep is associated with dreaming and memory consolidation; adults need 7-9 hours of sleep; sleep deprivation impairs cognitive function, immune response, cardiovascular health, and emotional regulation; circadian rhythms (the body's internal 24-hour clock) regulate the sleep-wake cycle.
- B1
The history of the bed: in prehistoric times, humans slept on the ground or on piles of vegetation; the first raised beds appeared in ancient Egypt (c. 3000 BCE) to keep sleepers away from insects and drafts; medieval European beds were often shared by multiple people; the four-poster bed became a status symbol in the Renaissance; the industrial revolution enabled mass-produced beds with spring mattresses; modern beds range from simple futons to technologically sophisticated adjustable frames with climate control; different cultures have different sleeping practices (futon on floor in Japan; hammock in parts of Latin America).
- B2
Geological beds and stratigraphy: in geology, a "bed" is the smallest unit of stratigraphic classification — a layer of sedimentary rock with uniform composition distinguishable from adjacent layers; the principle of superposition holds that in undisturbed sequences, older beds lie beneath younger ones; "bedding planes" are the surfaces between beds; sedimentary beds record environmental conditions (sea depth, climate, biological activity) at the time of deposition; reading the rock record through beds is fundamental to reconstructing Earth's history.
- B2
The bed as cultural symbol: the bed is a loaded cultural object — it is the site of birth, death, sickness, sexuality, and dreams; "getting out of bed on the wrong side" is a metaphor for starting the day badly; the deathbed is a liminal space in literature and religion; the marital bed symbolizes the sexual and domestic dimension of marriage; Plato in the Symposium uses the bed (kline) as the setting for philosophical discourse (the symposium was held reclining on couches); Whitman celebrated the bed as a site of democratic intimacy in Leaves of Grass.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Tags
