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: a shallow vessel used by a bedridden person for urination or defecation
Examples of bedpan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Tawse had decorated the hospital bedpans in red, white and blue tape, a small symbol of the excitement greeting 27-year-old Elizabeth as the new head of the royal family on the brink of a technicolor age.
—Reuters, ABC News, 2 May 2023
Ricky, 46, says he was routinely cursed and yelled at by an elderly client and has never been paid as much as minimum wage for changing bedpans and diapers, among other chores.
—Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2023
To insert a bedpan under a patient.
—Washington Post, 14 Apr. 2022
Eli, a 38-year-old patient with a chronic disease, described from his hospital bed how his roommate’s bedpan had overflowed on the Sunday after Thanksgiving, sending bloody urine all over the floor.
—Sharon Otterman, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2023
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Word History
First Known Use
1678, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near bedpan
Cite this Entry
“Bedpan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bedpan. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
bedpan
noun
bed·pan
ˈbed-ˌpan
: a shallow pan for use as a toilet by a person forced to stay in bed
Medical Definition
bedpan
noun
bed·pan
ˈbed-ˌpan
: a shallow vessel used by a bedridden person for urination or defecation
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