"bedtime story" meaning in English

See bedtime story in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /ˈbɛdtaɪm ˈstɔːɹi/ Forms: bedtime stories [plural]
Head templates: {{en-noun}} bedtime story (plural bedtime stories)
  1. A story, e.g. a fairy tale, told or read to somebody, usually a child, before they sleep. Translations (story for children before they sleep): قِصَّةٌ قَبْلَ النَوْمِ (qiṣṣatun qabla n-nawmi) [feminine] (Arabic), 睡前故事 (shuìqián gùshì) (Chinese Mandarin), pohádka na dobrou noc [feminine] (Czech), verhaaltje voor het slapengaan [neuter] (Dutch), verhaaltje [neuter] (Dutch), antaŭdorma rakonto (Esperanto), unejutt (Estonian), iltasatu (Finnish), histoire du soir [feminine] (French), histoire [feminine] (French), histoire pour s'endormir [feminine] (French), Gutenachtgeschichte [feminine] (German), παραμύθι (paramýthi) [neuter] (Greek), esti mese (Hungarian), favola della buonanotte [feminine] (Italian), storia della buonanotte [feminine] (Italian), racconto della buonanotte [masculine] (Italian), 寝物語 (nemonogatari) (alt: ねものがたり) (Japanese), bajka na dobranoc [feminine] (Polish), ска́зка на́ ночь (skázka ná nočʹ) [feminine] (Russian), príbeh na dobrú noc [masculine] (Slovak), godnattsaga [common-gender] (Swedish)

Inflected forms

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      "form": "bedtime stories",
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A story, e.g. a fairy tale, told or read to somebody, usually a child, before they sleep."
      ],
      "id": "en-bedtime_story-en-noun-TcnxtbNb",
      "links": [
        [
          "story",
          "story"
        ],
        [
          "fairy tale",
          "fairy tale"
        ],
        [
          "child",
          "child"
        ],
        [
          "sleep",
          "sleep"
        ]
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "lang_code": "ar",
          "roman": "qiṣṣatun qabla n-nawmi",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "قِصَّةٌ قَبْلَ النَوْمِ"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "lang_code": "cmn",
          "roman": "shuìqián gùshì",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "word": "睡前故事"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "lang_code": "cs",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "pohádka na dobrou noc"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "lang_code": "nl",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "verhaaltje voor het slapengaan"
        },
        {
          "code": "nl",
          "lang": "Dutch",
          "lang_code": "nl",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "verhaaltje"
        },
        {
          "code": "eo",
          "lang": "Esperanto",
          "lang_code": "eo",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "word": "antaŭdorma rakonto"
        },
        {
          "code": "et",
          "lang": "Estonian",
          "lang_code": "et",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "word": "unejutt"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "lang_code": "fi",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "word": "iltasatu"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "histoire du soir"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "histoire"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "lang_code": "fr",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "histoire pour s'endormir"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "lang_code": "de",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Gutenachtgeschichte"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "lang_code": "el",
          "roman": "paramýthi",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "neuter"
          ],
          "word": "παραμύθι"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "lang_code": "hu",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "word": "esti mese"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "favola della buonanotte"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "storia della buonanotte"
        },
        {
          "code": "it",
          "lang": "Italian",
          "lang_code": "it",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "racconto della buonanotte"
        },
        {
          "alt": "ねものがたり",
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "lang_code": "ja",
          "roman": "nemonogatari",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "word": "寝物語"
        },
        {
          "code": "pl",
          "lang": "Polish",
          "lang_code": "pl",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "bajka na dobranoc"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "lang_code": "ru",
          "roman": "skázka ná nočʹ",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "ска́зка на́ ночь"
        },
        {
          "code": "sk",
          "lang": "Slovak",
          "lang_code": "sk",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "príbeh na dobrú noc"
        },
        {
          "code": "sv",
          "lang": "Swedish",
          "lang_code": "sv",
          "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
          "tags": [
            "common-gender"
          ],
          "word": "godnattsaga"
        }
      ]
    }
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  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbɛdtaɪm ˈstɔːɹi/"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bedtime story"
}
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  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bedtime stories",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
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        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Greek translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "Terms with Italian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Polish translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations",
        "Terms with Slovak translations",
        "Terms with Swedish translations"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A story, e.g. a fairy tale, told or read to somebody, usually a child, before they sleep."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "story",
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        [
          "fairy tale",
          "fairy tale"
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          "sleep",
          "sleep"
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    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈbɛdtaɪm ˈstɔːɹi/"
    }
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  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "lang_code": "ar",
      "roman": "qiṣṣatun qabla n-nawmi",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "قِصَّةٌ قَبْلَ النَوْمِ"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "lang_code": "cmn",
      "roman": "shuìqián gùshì",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "word": "睡前故事"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "lang_code": "cs",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "pohádka na dobrou noc"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "verhaaltje voor het slapengaan"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "verhaaltje"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "lang_code": "eo",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "word": "antaŭdorma rakonto"
    },
    {
      "code": "et",
      "lang": "Estonian",
      "lang_code": "et",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "word": "unejutt"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "word": "iltasatu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "histoire du soir"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "histoire"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "histoire pour s'endormir"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Gutenachtgeschichte"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "lang_code": "el",
      "roman": "paramýthi",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "παραμύθι"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "lang_code": "hu",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "word": "esti mese"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "favola della buonanotte"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "storia della buonanotte"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "racconto della buonanotte"
    },
    {
      "alt": "ねものがたり",
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "lang_code": "ja",
      "roman": "nemonogatari",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "word": "寝物語"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "bajka na dobranoc"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "skázka ná nočʹ",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "ска́зка на́ ночь"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "lang_code": "sk",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "príbeh na dobrú noc"
    },
    {
      "code": "sv",
      "lang": "Swedish",
      "lang_code": "sv",
      "sense": "story for children before they sleep",
      "tags": [
        "common-gender"
      ],
      "word": "godnattsaga"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bedtime story"
}

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This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-01-13 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-01-01 using wiktextract (96027d6 and 9905b1f). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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