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trundle bed

trundle bed

2 4.9
A low bed on wheels that you pull out from under another bed
  • noun
  • /ˈtrʌndl bɛd/
translation icon : cama nido
  • During the sleepover, Emily chose the trundle bed because it was perfect for her friends to stay over.
  • trundle bed or inflatable mattresses
  • trundle bed in the corner

Examples

  • That night I lay in the trundle bed beside Peggy Shippen's own large one, bundled against the cold.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Ed lies on his back on the trundle bed next to Sarah.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • My mother settled into the guest room while Lucy and I prepared the bottom half of her trundle bed.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • His room is still his room, with a trundle bed, desk, and corner bookshelf.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • These two had a sleepover, and Betty slept on the trundle bed that pulls out under Belle's bed.

  • Leaving Lani Walker asleep on the bed above for a moment, he pulled the trundle bed out of the storage space and locked the four casters in place.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • My daughter loves to sleep on the trundle bed, which easily rolls out from under her sister's bed.

  • The guest room features a stylish trundle bed, allowing us to accommodate additional visitors comfortably.

Synonyms

trundle
vstrundle bed
4 8.3

A low bed on wheels that pulls out from under another bed

is the two-word phrase describing the identical bed form
truckle bed
vstrundle bed
  • Archaic
9.6

A low bed on wheels that you pull out from under another bed

is the other common written form with identical meaning
truckle
vstrundle bed
  • Archaic
9.9

A low bed on wheels stored under a higher bed for extra sleeping space

emphasizes that it is pulled out for use rather than simply stored

How Space-Saving

Murphy bed
  • US
1 4.8
bunk bed
23 1.3
trundle bed
2 4.9
sofa bed
5 2.6
single bed
  • UK
5 1.0
double bed
5 1.2

Surface Forms

trundle bed singular
trundle beds plural

Morphology

trundle + bed

The meaning is directly compositional: 'trundle' refers to a pull-out/rolling low bed and 'bed' specifies the furniture, so a learner who knows both constituents can readily infer a low bed that pulls out from under another. The construction follows normal English noun-compounding and matches common cross-linguistic patterns for pull-out beds, making it transparent for B1 learners who know the parts.

Etymology

The compound noun trundle bed comes from the word trundle, which once meant 'to roll'. Imagine a small trundle bed that rolls out from under a larger bed to make extra sleeping space, and that's why trundle bed means a low bed on wheels that is stored under a higher bed.