Bedridden means confined to bed because of illness or injury. When someone is bedridden, they're too sick or hurt to get up and move around normally. They must stay in bed for days, weeks, or sometimes even longer while their body heals.

A person might become bedridden after major surgery, a serious accident, or a severe illness. For example, someone with a broken pelvis might be bedridden for months while the bones heal. Before modern medicine developed treatments for diseases like tuberculosis or polio, many people spent years bedridden, unable to leave their rooms.

Being bedridden is different from choosing to stay in bed because you're tired or have a mild cold. It means you physically cannot get up and function normally. Bedridden patients often need help with basic tasks like eating, bathing, and using the bathroom. They might develop other health problems from lying down for so long, which is why doctors today try to get patients moving again as soon as it's safely possible.

While we have better medical treatments now than in the past, some people still become bedridden from strokes, severe injuries, or progressive diseases.