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Glite Dictionary
bed ground

bed ground

8.6
A place where farm animals like cows or sheep lie down to sleep at night
  • noun
  • UK
translation icon : lugar de descanso
  • The rancher led the herd to a safe bed ground before nightfall.

Examples

  • Coyotes sometimes circle the bed ground looking for stray animals.

  • The cattle settled on the bed ground for the night.

  • After a long day of grazing, the sheep gathered on the bed ground to rest.

  • Farmers often check the bed grounds before dusk.

  • After a long day of grazing, the sheep gathered on the bed ground to rest.

  • The rancher led the herd to a safe bed ground before nightfall.

  • The cattle settled on the bed ground for the night.

Synonyms

bedground
vsbed ground
  • Archaic
9.9

An area of ground where a herd of cows or sheep sleeps at night

is the general description but written with different punctuation or spacing
bed-ground
vsbed ground
  • Archaic
9.9

A place where a group of cattle or sheep sleep at night

is the same meaning but uses an unhyphenated or spaced form

Surface Forms

bed ground singular
bed grounds plural

Morphology

bed + ground

The meaning is directly compositional: 'bed' (a place to lie/sleep) combined with 'ground' (the earth surface) yields a ground used for bedding animals. Although the compound is somewhat specialized and not very frequent, a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer it refers to the place where cattle or sheep bed down.

Etymology

Bed ground comes from farm life. It names the patch of ground where animals bed down, or 'lie down to sleep', so it now means the place where cattle or sheep settle for the night.