HomeServicesBlogDictionariesContactSpanish Course
← Back to search

Meaning of Bedfellow | Babel Free

Noun CEFR B2
ˈbɛdˌfɛloʊ

Definitions

  1. One with whom one shares a bed.
  2. An associate, often an otherwise improbable one.

Equivalents

العربية المرافق
Nederlands bedgenoot
Svenska sängkamrat

Examples

“Yong budding Virgin, faire, and freſh,& ſweet, / Whether away, or whether is thy aboade? / Happy the Parents of ſo faire a childe; / Happier the man whom fauourable ſtars / A lots thee for his louely bedfellow.”
“Car[azie]. / In the day I waite on my Lady when ſhe eates, / Carry her pantophles, beare vp her trayne / Sing her aſleepe at night, and when ſhe pleaſes / I am her bedfellow. / Gaz[et]. / How? her bedfellow, / And lye with her? / Car[azie]. / Yes, and lye with her.”
“Therefore, grave mistresses of fate, I pray / That I may never live to see the day / When Zeus takes me for his bedfellow;”
“They say that "misfortune makes men acquainted with strange bedfellows". The old hereditary Whig Cabinet ministers must, no doubt, by this time have learned to feel themselves at home with strange neighbours at their elbows.”
“Certain aspects of reprint publishing are more akin to university press publishing than to any other sector of the publishing industry, but the relationships between the two frequently create unwilling bedfellows.”
“Statistics and truth can be uneasy bedfellows when it comes to football, but one fact could not be ignored: neither side has a player with more than seven goals to his name.”

CEFR level

B2
Upper Intermediate
This word is part of the CEFR B2 vocabulary — upper intermediate level.
See all B2 English words →

See also

Learn this word in context

See Bedfellow used in real conversations inside our free language course.

Start Free Course

Know this word better than we do? Language is a living thing — help us keep it growing. Collaborate with Babel Free