featherbed n : a mattress stuffed with feathers [syn: feather bed]

1 treat with excessive indulgence; "grandparents often pamper the children"; "Let's not mollycoddle our students!" [syn: pamper, cosset, cocker, baby, coddle, mollycoddle, spoil, indulge]

2 hire more workers than are necessary [also: featherbedding, featherbedded]

English

Noun

1. A mattress stuffed with feathers

Alternative spellings

• feather bed

Verb

1. To treat someone with excessive indulgence; to pamper, cosset or mollycoddle

Alternative spellings

• feather-bed

Featherbeds are traditionally used on top of mattresses to help make them softer. They can be made either with feathers, down, or a combination of both materials. Most people recommend that you shake out or fluff the featherbed often to keep the feathers evenly distributed.