noun
Meaning 1
A mattress stuffed with feathers.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
featherbed
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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CMU ARPABET: F EH1 DH ER0 B EH2 D Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
An area of bog where a layer of moss covers a pool of water or mud, presenting a hazard to walkers who may fall through it. (Also in UK and Irish placenames.)
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: UK, especially
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
A soft, slow pitch of predictable bounce.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: ball-games, cricket, games, hobbies, lifestyle, sports
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 4
To treat someone with excessive indulgence; to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: transitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 5
To engage in featherbedding; to employ more workers than necessary to fulfill a labor union requirement.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: intransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
a mattress stuffed with feathers
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: feather bed
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mattress
verb
Meaning 7
hire more workers than are necessary
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: hire, engage, employ
verb
Meaning 8
treat with excessive indulgence
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
- grandparents often pamper the children
- Let's not mollycoddle our students!
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: pamper, cosset, cocker, baby, coddle, mollycoddle, spoil, indulge
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: treat, handle, do by
History
Etymology
Etymology tree English feather Proto-Germanic *badją Proto-West Germanic *badi Old English bedd Middle English bed English bed English featherbed From feather + bed.
Across languages
Translations
20 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Bulgarian: пухен дюшек (puhen djušek) — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- Finnish: höyhenpatja — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- German: Federbett — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- Hungarian: derékalj — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- Ido: plumolito — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- Irish: leaba chlúimh (éan) — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- Irish: leaba chluimhrí — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- Karelian: perinä — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- Polish: materac wypełniony pierzem — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- Russian: пери́на (perína) — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- Russian: пухови́к (puxovík) — a mattress stuffed with feathers
- Bulgarian: глезя (glezja) — to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle
- Bulgarian: изнежвам (iznežvam) — to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle
- German: verwöhnen — to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle
- Polish: rozpieszczać — to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle
- Polish: rozpieścić — to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle
- Spanish: ser indulgente — to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle
- Spanish: consentir — to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle
- Spanish: mimar — to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle
- Spanish: tener entre algodones — to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle