# bedding

Pronunciation: say "BED-ing" /ˈbɛdɪŋ/

## Noun

1. The sheets, pillowcases, blankets, and covers used to dress a bed.
   - Simple: Sheets, blankets, pillows, and covers that you put on a bed.
   - _Fresh bedding makes even a cheap hotel room feel welcoming._
   - _He stripped the bedding off the mattress before the move._
2. Material provided for animals to lie on, such as straw or wood shavings.
   - Simple: Straw, hay, or other soft material that animals lie on.
   - _The stable hands replaced the soiled bedding each morning._
   - _Wood shavings make good bedding for small pets._
3. The textiles of a bed together with the mattress, bedframe, and base such as a box spring. *(British)*
   - Simple: The sheets and covers of a bed, plus the mattress and the frame.
   - _The hotel replaced all the bedding, including the worn mattresses and frames._
   - _She ordered a complete set of bedding for the guest room._
5. The seasonal planting of quick-growing plants in flower beds to give a short-lived splash of color in spring, summer, or winter.
   - Simple: Planting quick-growing flowers in beds to make a colorful display for one season.
   - _The botanical garden's bedding scheme brings fresh color to the borders each season._
   - _Spring bedding was lifted and replaced with summer annuals._
6. In geology, a pattern of partings in granite and similar massive rocks that makes them break into distinct sheets lying flat or following the slope of the land surface.
   - Simple: A pattern in rocks like granite that lets them break apart in flat layers.
   - _The quarry exploited the bedding in the granite to lift large, even sheets._
   - _Weathering along the bedding produced smooth, rounded rock surfaces._

## Verb

4. Present participle of bed. — present participle and gerund of bed
   - Simple: Present participle of bed. Use this -ing form when the action is happening now or ongoing.
   - _The gardeners spent the morning bedding tulips along the path._
   - _Bedding the foundation stones correctly took the masons all week._

## Origin

**Meanings 1–3, 5–6** — From Middle English bedding, beddyng, from Old English bedding ("bedding"), equivalent to bed plus the suffix -ing.
**Meaning 4** — Formed from bed and the suffix -ing.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bedding (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).