English Reference
Idiom idiom

bed in


To allow or help to settle in; to make (someone) feel at home.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.


SIMPLE

It takes a few days to bed in at a new job.

CONTEXTUAL

We gave the new team members a week to bed in before assigning them any major projects.

COMPLEX

The manager allowed the new software system to bed in for several months before she fully integrated it into the company's daily operations.


Derived from the horticultural practice of introducing a plant or seed into a prepared bed of soil. The metaphor assumes a period of settling within a stable environment to ensure future growth.


Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    bed blocker

    An elderly hospitalized person who is too infirm to return home but not sufficiently ill to necessitate continued hospitalization, creating a situation in which his or her hospital stay is prolonged while authorities or relatives search for a suitable placement amid the scarce resources of nursing homes or other long-term care facilities.

  2. 02

    bed of roses

    A pleasant or easy situation; an untroubled existence.

  3. 03

    get out of bed on the wrong side

    To start the day in a bad mood for no apparent reason.

  4. 04

    get up on the wrong side of the bed

    To feel irritable; to be in a bad mood; to have a bad day from the start, for no particular reason.

  5. 05

    make one's bed and lie in it

    To create a difficult situation whose unpleasant consequences one must now endure.

  6. 06

    marriage bed

    Sexual activity between a married couple.

  7. 07

    put to bed

    To prepare (a newspaper) for printing.

  8. 08

    shit the bed

    Of a person or thing, to fail, often in a complete and irreparable fashion.

Last updated August 10, 2026