beds

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of bed.

   The cabin sleeps eight, with four bunk beds in the loft.

   Heavy rain washed the seedlings out of the flower beds overnight.

   Note

   The plural belongs to the countable bed: the piece of furniture, or a spot made up for the night, as in twin beds, bunk beds and flower beds. The uncountable uses never take it. When bed means sleep, bedtime or time spent lying down, it stays singular, so a child is sent to bed, not to beds.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of bed.

   The mason beds each stone in a thick layer of mortar.

   She beds the seedlings deep enough to protect their roots from frost.

   Note

   The present-tense form usually takes an object: a mason beds stone in mortar, and a gardener beds seedlings in soil. Without an object it can simply mean goes to bed or, of large game, rests. The sexual sense uses the same form, so context decides how a sentence like "he beds" is read. The identical spelling also serves as the plural noun.

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