bedfellow

[ bed-fel-oh ]

noun

1. Also called bedmate. a person who shares one's bed.
2. an associate or collaborator, especially one who forms a temporary alliance for reasons of expediency:

   Politics makes strange bedfellows.

bedfellow

/ ˈbɛdˌfɛləʊ /

noun

1. a person with whom one shares a bed
2. a temporary ally or associate

Word History and Origins

Origin of bedfellow¹

First recorded in 1400–50, bedfellow is from the late Middle English word bedfelow. See bed, fellow

Example Sentences

Monopolistic power is a worry that sometimes makes strange bedfellows, especially in Congress.

From Time

An odd group of congressional bedfellows will introduce a bill Thursday to fully standardize and digitize the process of registering foreign agents — making it far easier for the public to search and enforce the federal database.

From Axios

In doing so, it has found itself partnered with some unlikely bedfellows, profoundly undermining both Ennahda’s credibility and that of its political partners.

From Time

The $200 billion data broker industry is lucrative, and has many unlikely bedfellows.

From Time

The tax measures are major wins for anti-smoking advocates after a string of defeats but, in an example of how politics makes strange bedfellows, Colorado’s tax might not have been possible without Altria’s help.

From Fortune

Wallace crept into bed beside his communicative bedfellow in silence.

From Project Gutenberg

He first made an attempt on the apprentice, his bedfellow; but he struggled so far as to effect his escape, and hid himself.

From Project Gutenberg

He implores mercy for his “desolate bedfellow,” for her children, and for his sons by his first wife.

From Project Gutenberg

My bedfellow and I slept on an oilcloth, covered with an overcoat, and tied our four feet up together in a flannel shirt.

From Project Gutenberg

Why do they hardly feel that they have prayed if company, or a bedfellow, on a journey, keeps them from using oral prayer?

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• caller
• client
• companion
• customer
• inmate
• patron
• recipient
• tenant
• vacationer
• visitor