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bedpan

American  
[bed-pan] / ˈbɛdˌpæn /

noun

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

  2. bedwarmer.

bedpan British  
/ ˈbɛdˌpæn /

noun

  1. a shallow vessel placed under a bedridden patient to collect faeces and urine

  2. another name for warming pan

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bedpan

First recorded in 1575–85; bed + pan 1

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.

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 • Aug. 9, 2024

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

From Slate • Jun. 4, 2023

But after one of my colleagues said it looked like a bedpan, I just couldn’t unsee the resemblance.

From The Verge • May 28, 2022

The curriculum covers the practical aspects of working in a nursing home: bed-making, catheter care, using a bedpan and transferring residents from a wheelchair to a bed.

From Salon • Jan. 2, 2022

“Let me bring her the bedpan first. Then you can meet her,” Mami says.

From "Lucky Broken Girl" by Ruth Behar

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.