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bed down

B2 informal inseparable both
In simple words

To find a place to sleep, or to get comfortable and start sleeping — often somewhere unusual.

Literal meaning: To lie down in a bed or prepared sleeping area.

Meanings

1 B1 informal

To lie down and prepare to sleep, often in a temporary or improvised place.

"The hikers bedded down in the barn because the weather was too bad to pitch a tent."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B2 neutral

Of animals: to settle into a resting place, especially when provided with straw or bedding.

"The farmer made sure all the horses were bedded down before he locked the stable."

Grammar: separable
3 B2 idiomatic neutral

Of a system, policy, or process: to become settled, established, and functioning smoothly after a period of change.

"Once the new software beds down, we expect productivity to improve significantly."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

In everyday speech, it usually refers to sleeping in a temporary location. In British business English, 'bed down' can mean a process is becoming stable and normalised after a period of change.

Commonly used with

refugees animals soldiers policy reforms straw

Forms

Base
bed down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
beds down
he/she/it
Past simple
beded down
yesterday
Past participle
beded down
have + pp
-ing form
beding down
continuous

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