bedpan

[ bed-pan ]

noun

1. a shallow toilet pan for use by persons confined to bed.
2. bedwarmer.

bedpan

/ ˈbɛdˌpæn /

noun

1. a shallow vessel placed under a bedridden patient to collect faeces and urine
2. another name for warming pan

Word History and Origins

Origin of bedpan¹

First recorded in 1575–85; bed + pan ¹

Example Sentences

Among the new finds are an anchor, glass bottles and a bedpan, according to a statement from the Colombian Institute of Anthropology and History.

From BBC

The first, she said in an interview, was by her parents at home and the second by a local doctor who instructed a nurse to discard her in a bedpan after inducing her birth at just 23 weeks gestation.

From Washington Times

The first, she said in an interview, was by her parents at home and the second by a local doctor who instructed a nurse to discard her in a bedpan after inducing her birth at just 23 weeks gestation.

From Seattle Times

She reserved her deepest attention for the orderlies who came in to change her bedpan and her sheets.

From Slate

“Susan wanted to crawl under the nearest bedpan and hide,” he wrote.

From New York Times