Meaning & use
bed bugs
Last updated
Meaning
nounplural
Small wingless insects that live in beds and feed on human blood at night.
Grammar: Used as a plural noun; the singular form is 'bed bug'.
Patterns
- a bed bug
- bed bugs in something
- infested with bed bugs
The hotel room was infested with bed bugs, so we asked for a different room.
Bed bugs are tiny and hard to see, but their bites leave itchy red spots.
After traveling, always check your luggage for bed bugs before bringing it inside.
Word forms
| singular | bed bug |
|---|
Common combinations
- bed bug bites
- She had bed bug bites all over her arms after staying at the hostel.
- bed bug infestation
- The apartment building had a serious bed bug infestation last summer.
- get rid of bed bugs
- It can be expensive to get rid of bed bugs completely.
- bed bug treatment
- The pest control company offered a special bed bug treatment.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chinches
- An informal or regional term for bed bugs, more common in some parts of the US.
Word family
- bedbug noun
- A variant spelling of 'bed bug', often used in American English.
Commonly confused: bed bugs or bedbug?
bed bugs vs bedbug
This is just a one-word spelling of the same insect; 'bed bugs' is the more formal two-word form.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'bed bugs' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Bed bugs' is a plural noun, so it takes a plural verb like 'can hide' and no article. Option A uses 'a' with a plural, option B uses a singular verb, and option D uses the singular form without an article in a way that sounds incomplete.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “bed bugs”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.