bed-sitter
Definition
- Noun:
- A "bed-sitter" is a single room used as both a bedroom and a sitting room (a living area for relaxing or entertaining guests). This term is primarily used in British English to describe a type of rented accommodation where the occupant sleeps, lives, and socializes in the same room, often with shared kitchen or bathroom facilities.
Usage Examples
- (A single room serving as both bedroom and living area.)
- (A rented room with combined sleeping and sitting space.)
Advanced Usage
"to live in a bed-sitter": to reside in a single room that combines sleeping and living functions.
- Many students live in a bed-sitter near campus to save money. (They occupy a room that serves as both bedroom and sitting room.)
"converted into a bed-sitter": referring to a larger room or space that has been adapted to function as a combined bedroom and living area.
- The old drawing room was converted into a bed-sitter for a lodger. (The large room was repurposed as a single living/sleeping unit.)
Variants and Related Words
Bed-sitting-room (n): a full form of "bed-sitter," meaning the same concept.
- The advertisement described it as a bed-sitting-room with a kitchenette. (A single room for both sleeping and sitting.)
Bedsit (n): a shortened, informal variant of "bed-sitter," common in British English.
- He found a cheap bedsit in a shared house. (An informal term for a bed-sitter.)
Synonyms
- Studio apartment: a self-contained living space that combines bedroom, living room, and kitchen in one room (more common in American English).
- Single room: a room used for both sleeping and living, often with shared facilities (more general term).
Related Idioms
- "A bed-sitter existence": a way of life characterized by living in a small, combined living/sleeping space, often suggesting solitude or limited means.
- His bed-sitter existence in the suburbs felt lonely after the divorce. (Living alone in a single room for both sleeping and living.)