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Glite Dictionary
🐶 Takes bed space 🏥 Patient not discharged
bed blocker

bed blocker

7.7
A person or thing that takes up most of a bed
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : bloqueador de cama
  • The cat is such a bed blocker that I can barely find room to sleep.

Examples

  • Her collection of pillows has become the ultimate bed blocker for anyone sharing her bed.

  • Every morning I wake up cramped because my dog is a notorious bed blocker.

  • My cat is a real bed blocker at night.

  • Emma's dog is the ultimate bed blocker!

  • Every morning I wake up cramped because my dog is a notorious bed blocker.

  • Her collection of pillows has become the ultimate bed blocker for anyone sharing her bed.

  • The cat is such a bed blocker that I can barely find room to sleep.

Surface Forms

bed blocker singular
bed blockers plural

Morphology

bed + blocker

The compound is compositionally clear: 'bed' (hospital bed) + 'blocker' (one who blocks) yields 'someone who blocks beds' — i.e., a person occupying beds and preventing their availability. Although it is healthcare jargon, the agentive -er formation and literal interpretation make the meaning predictable to a learner who knows the constituents.

Etymology

Bed blocker comes from the clear image of someone or something sprawled across the bed, acting like a hard blocker that leaves no room for anyone else. So it means 'a person or object that takes up too much space in a bed'.