Learning / English Dictionary

FEATHERBED

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: featherbedded    , featherbedding   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A mattress stuffed with feathers

Synonyms:

feather bed; featherbed

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("featherbed" is a kind of...):

mattress (a large thick pad filled with resilient material and often incorporating coiled springs, used as a bed or part of a bed)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hire more workers than are necessary

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "featherbed" is one way to...):

employ; engage; hire (engage or hire for work)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Treat with excessive indulgence

Example:

Let's not mollycoddle our students!

Synonyms:

baby; cocker; coddle; cosset; featherbed; indulge; mollycoddle; pamper; spoil

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "featherbed" is one way to...):

do by; handle; treat (interact in a certain way)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

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