What does bedwetter mean?
A bedwetter is a person — most commonly a child — who involuntarily urinates while asleep in bed. The word combines "bed" with "wetter," the agentive form of "wet," and belongs to informal register: it is the everyday counterpart of the clinical term "nocturnal enuresis." Because bedwetting is widespread in early childhood and usually resolves on its own, the term is generally used without stigma when applied to young children, though it can carry a teasing or mildly derogatory edge, especially when directed at teenagers or adults. Parents and pediatricians often use it matter-of-factly when discussing development, sleep habits, or bladder control. The derived noun "bedwetting" refers to the behavior itself. Related expressions include "chronic bedwetter," used for persistent cases, and "recovering bedwetter," sometimes used humorously by adults recalling their childhood.
nounA person, especially a child, who habitually urinates in bed while asleep.
- A person, especially a child, who habitually urinates in bed while asleep.
"The pediatrician reassured the parents that bedwetting is common and that their son was far from the only bedwetter in his class."
"As a child he was a chronic bedwetter, and only outgrew it around age ten."
"She wrote warmly about being a childhood bedwetter to reassure other parents that it is nothing to be ashamed of."
Standard plural; used when referring to multiple people who wet the bed.
"The clinic runs a support group for parents of bedwetters aged five to ten."
Despite its teasing tone, "bedwetter" describes something remarkably common — most children wet the bed at some point, and doctors consider it a normal developmental stage rather than a flaw.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of bedwetter
"Bedwetter" is a transparent English compound formed from "bed" (Old English "bedd") plus the agent noun "wetter," derived from the Old English adjective "wæter"/verb-rooted "wet." It arose as an informal descriptive term for a child who wets the bed, paralleling the older clinical vocabulary of "enuresis" borrowed from Greek through Latin medical usage. Its exact first attestation date is uncertain, but the compound follows the productive English pattern of "X + agent-of-Y" nouns such as "daydreamer" or "sleepwalker."
Related word forms
How bedwetter is actually used
Informal and often slightly pejorative or teasing when applied to adults; in medical contexts clinicians prefer the neutral term "enuresis" or describing someone as "affected by nocturnal enuresis" rather than calling them a bedwetter.
Easily confused with bedwetter
"Wet the bed" is the verb phrase describing the act of urinating in bed, while a "bedwetter" is the noun referring to the person who does so habitually.