air mattress

noun

plural air mattresses
: a soft, airtight plastic case that is designed to be inflated and used as a bed
And take it from my early 1960s-model spine, a modern air mattress—cheap, simple to inflate and reliable—is something that many parents will find essential when sleeping in a tent.Steve Stephens

called also air bed

Examples of air mattress in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The company’s founders pitched their bold idea of renting out air mattresses to strangers, receiving rejection after rejection from investors. Glenn Llopis, Forbes.com, 19 Apr. 2025 The woman walked viewers online through a recurring issue where she and her boyfriend, Nathan, 26, are always relegated to sleeping on an air mattress during family visits, despite earlier promises of a fair rotation system. Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024 There’s a scene when Bing hovers over Naomi’s air mattress on their first night. Jake Kring-Schreifels, Rolling Stone, 1 Apr. 2025 This isn’t the strangest place that a person has been caught sleeping in N.Y.C. In 2018, someone shared a video on YouTube of a man blowing up a green air mattress on the subway — and then placing a pillow and blanket on top of it. Kimberlee Speakman, People.com, 22 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for air mattress

Word History

First Known Use

1832, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of air mattress was in 1832

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Cite this Entry

“Air mattress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/air%20mattress. Accessed 23 Apr. 2025.

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