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Glite Dictionary
bedpost

bedpost

11 2.0
A post at the corner of a bed that sticks up above the mattress
  • noun
  • /ˈbɛdˌpoʊst/
translation icon : poste de la cama
  • She grabbed the bedpost to steady herself when she lost her balance.
  • notches on the bedpost
  • hanging on the bedpost
  • leaned against the bedpost

Examples

  • I backed into the bedpost.

    It Runs in the Family (1994)

  • In the arc of our flashlights, we find our favorite hairbrushes behind bedposts.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • And the bedpost was his own, the bed was his own, the room was his own.

    The Man Who Invented Christmas (2017)

  • The last time I had seen one, it had been sticking out of a bedpost next to my head.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Across the bed, a pair of handcuffs is locked around the bedpost.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • We found your wife's fingerprints on the bedpost.

    Nocturnal Animals (2016)

  • Somewhat disappointed, she leaned against the bedpost and closed her eyes.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • I dripped some wax from my candle on the bedpost and stuck my candle there.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • I shut my eyes and rub my temples, briefly leaning against the bedpost.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • Skava was still sleeping, one foot tucked up beneath her and the other clutching my bedpost.

    Fiction book (1993)

Idioms

notch on someone's bedpost
  • Informal
8.2

A success someone counts to show they are making progress

Surface Forms

bedpost singular
bedposts plural

Morphology

bedpost = bed + post (transparent) = bed + post

The meaning ('an upright support of a bed') follows directly from the clear combination of 'bed' + 'post'.

Etymology

Bedpost is a simple compound of bed and post, where post means a 'upright stick' like a fence post or lamp post. So a bedpost is the upright support at the corner of a bed, which is why the word means one of the supports that stick up beside the mattress.