Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
bed down en · VERB
Meanings
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(intransitive) To lie down to sleep for the night, usually of livestock or machinery, or of people when sleeping somewhere worse than normal, often camping or in prison.
The tent was an uncomfortable place to bed down.
Through the woods, and frosted moors
Past the snow-caked hedgerows I
Bed down upon the drifting snow
Sleep beneath the melting sky.
2004, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Spell:2006, Temple Grandin, Jennifer Lanier and Mark Deesing, Low Stress Methods for Moving and Herding Cattle on Pastures, Paddocks and Large Feedlot Pens, Department of Animal Sciences, Colorado State University
The herd will tend to stay where the calves bed down.
The horses will bed down once they get in the stable.
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(transitive) To put an animal to rest for the night.
We'll bed down the cattle and head into town.
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(transitive) To sleep with or sleep alongside (a person or pet).
Who has she been bedding down with?
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(ambitransitive, figuratively) To make or become permanent, fixed or wedded to a particular setup, way of thinking, style or manner.
The new batch of employees soon bedded down.
A habit can easily become bedded down.
Forms