Abed means in bed or on a bed. If you're lying abed at seven in the morning while your alarm clock buzzes, you're still in bed when you could be getting up. If your parents find you reading abed past your bedtime with a flashlight under the covers, you're reading in bed instead of sleeping.

This word sounds a bit old-fashioned because it is. You'll find it in classic books and poetry more often than in everyday conversation. Charles Dickens might write about someone lying abed with a fever, or Shakespeare might describe a character still abed at noon. Today, we usually just say “in bed” instead, but abed appears often enough in literature that it's worth knowing.

The word comes from combining “a-” (meaning “in” or “on”) with “bed,” similar to how aboard means “on board” a ship and ashore means “on shore.” When you spot abed in your reading, picture someone tucked under blankets or sprawled across a mattress, whether they're sleeping, sick, or just enjoying a good book.