Dictionary

bedtime en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• bĕdʹtīm
• /ˈbɛdtaɪm/
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English bedtyme, bed-tyme, bedetyme, bedde tyme, equivalent to bed + time. Compare earlier Old English bedtīd (“bedtime”). Compare also West Frisian bêdtiid (“bedtime”), Dutch bedtijd (“bedtime”), Saterland Frisian Bädegungenstied (“bedtime”, literally “bed-goings-time”), German Low German Beddgahnstied, Bettgahnstiet (“bedtime”, literally “bed-goings-time”).

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The time or hour at which one retires to bed in order to sleep.
   • Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found. 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:
   • I read every evening, sometimes late into the night, with the help of kerosene lamps, often secretly, past my bedtime. 2004, Vartan Gregorian, The Road to Home: My Life and Times, page 55:
   • The Sultan (impatiently).—Confound this dadblasted collar-bolt! I wish it had— Izzet Aintit Wazzit Pasha (custodian of the imperial wardrobe).—Can I be of any assistance, Sire? The Sultan.—Well, you might get a can of oil and a monkey-wrench and help me off with this undershirt. It’s long past bedtime now. 1908 September 23, “In Turkey”, in A[rthur] H[amilton] Folwell, editor, Puck, volume LXIV, number 1647, New York, N.Y.: Keppler & Schwarzmann, →OCLC:

Forms

Deriveds

bedtime procrastination · tears before bedtime · prebedtime · bedtime story

Translations (44)

ka დაძინების დრო (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · nb sengetid (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · pt hora de dormir (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · ko 취침 시간 (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · eo dormohoro (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · ru вре́мя ложи́ться спать (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · de Zeit ins Bett zu gehen (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · kmr dema raketinê (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · fr dodo (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · nl bedtijd (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · sv sängdags (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · hu lefekvés ideje (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · xsv gulta (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · nn sengtid (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · de Schlafenszeit (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · vo slipüp (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · sv läggdags (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · fr heure du coucher (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · sv nanedags (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · ro timpul de culcare (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · de Zeit zum Schlafengehen (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · nn sengetid (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · nl kinderbedtijd (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · hu lefekvési idő (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · nb leggetid (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · es hora de dormir (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · ga am luí (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · km ម៉ោងចូលគេង (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · vo slipatim (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · da sengetid (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · ka ძილის დრო (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · tr yatma vakti (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · fi nukkumaanmenoaika (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · ang bedtīd (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · vi giờ đi ngủ (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · bg време за лягане (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · tr uyku vakti (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · ckb کاتی خەوتن (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · de Zeit zu Bett zu gehen (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · cmn 就寢時間 /就寝时间 (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · sv sovdags (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · nn leggetid (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · ru отбо́й (time when one goes to bed to sleep) · nn leggjetid (time when one goes to bed to sleep)