bedfellow
Americannoun
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Also called bedmate. a person who shares one's bed.
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an associate or collaborator, especially one who forms a temporary alliance for reasons of expediency.
Politics makes strange bedfellows.
noun
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a person with whom one shares a bed
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a temporary ally or associate
Etymology
Origin of bedfellow
First recorded in 1400–50, bedfellow is from the late Middle English word bedfelow. See bed, fellow
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A person can get lost in a big house, all alone, with nothing but their memories as a cold bedfellow.
From Salon • Jul. 28, 2025
Peek inside Puerto Vallarta and you’ll discover a curious little pop-up shop inside the restaurant advertising “Himalayan Tea,” dosas, and pink salt, a theoretically strange bedfellow for a Mexican family restaurant.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 17, 2022
Is Musk a strange bedfellow they can live with to save people?
From Washington Post • May 3, 2022
Light, spiced and not too sweet – although if upping the sweetness is in order, they’d make a good bedfellow for that banana jam ...
From The Guardian • Jun. 19, 2020
There was a slight mist when John Longridge rose early the following morning, having fought a losing battle for the middle of the bed with his uninvited bedfellow.
From "The Incredible Journey" by Sheila Burnford
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
