be·deck

(bĭ-dĕk′)

tr.v. be·decked, be·deck·ing, be·decks

To adorn or ornament in a showy fashion.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bedeck

(bɪˈdɛk)

(tr) to cover with decorations; adorn

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

be•deck

(bɪˈdɛk)

v.t.

to adorn, esp. in a gaudy manner.

[1560–70]

bedeck

Past participle: bedecked
Gerund: bedecking

Imperative
bedeck
bedeck

Present
I bedeck
you bedeck
he/she/it bedecks
we bedeck
you bedeck
they bedeck

Preterite
I bedecked
you bedecked
he/she/it bedecked
we bedecked
you bedecked
they bedecked

Present Continuous
I am bedecking
you are bedecking
he/she/it is bedecking
we are bedecking
you are bedecking
they are bedecking

Present Perfect
I have bedecked
you have bedecked
he/she/it has bedecked
we have bedecked
you have bedecked
they have bedecked

Past Continuous
I was bedecking
you were bedecking
he/she/it was bedecking
we were bedecking
you were bedecking
they were bedecking

Past Perfect
I had bedecked
you had bedecked
he/she/it had bedecked
we had bedecked
you had bedecked
they had bedecked

Future
I will bedeck
you will bedeck
he/she/it will bedeck
we will bedeck
you will bedeck
they will bedeck

Future Perfect
I will have bedecked
you will have bedecked
he/she/it will have bedecked
we will have bedecked
you will have bedecked
they will have bedecked

Future Continuous
I will be bedecking
you will be bedecking
he/she/it will be bedecking
we will be bedecking
you will be bedecking
they will be bedecking

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been bedecking
you have been bedecking
he/she/it has been bedecking
we have been bedecking
you have been bedecking
they have been bedecking

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been bedecking
you will have been bedecking
he/she/it will have been bedecking
we will have been bedecking
you will have been bedecking
they will have been bedecking

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been bedecking
you had been bedecking
he/she/it had been bedecking
we had been bedecking
you had been bedecking
they had been bedecking

Conditional
I would bedeck
you would bedeck
he/she/it would bedeck
we would bedeck
you would bedeck
they would bedeck

Past Conditional
I would have bedecked
you would have bedecked
he/she/it would have bedecked
we would have bedecked
you would have bedecked
they would have bedecked

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb

bedeck - decorate; "deck the halls with holly"

bedight, deck

adorn, decorate, grace, ornament, embellish, beautify - make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.; "Decorate the room for the party"; "beautify yourself for the special day"

plume - deck with a plume; "a plumed helmet"

bedeck

verb decorate, grace, trim, array, enrich, adorn, garnish, ornament, embellish, festoon, beautify, bedight (archaic), bedizen (archaic), engarland Flags bedeck the balcony

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

bedeck

verb

To furnish with decorations:

adorn, deck (out), decorate, dress (up), embellish, garnish, ornament, trim.

Translations

décorer garnir orner parer

bedeck

[bɪˈdek] VT → adornar, engalanar

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

bedeck

[bɪˈdɛk] vt (= decorate) → parer

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

bedeck

vt → schmücken

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

bedeck

[bɪˈdɛk] vt → ornare, decorare

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

It is like a sheep-dog, always running backwards and forwards, poking into the most out-of-the-way corners, now climbing at a run some steep hummock of the down, and now leisurely going miles about to escape an ant-hill; and all the time (here, by the way, ends the sheep-dog) it is stopping to gossip with rillets vagabond as itself, or loitering to bedeck itself with flowers.

View in context

It was at the dawn of day in the merry Maytime, when hedgerows are green and flowers bedeck the meadows; daisies pied and yellow cuckoo buds and fair primroses all along the briery hedges; when apple buds blossom and sweet birds sing, the lark at dawn of day, the throstle cock and cuckoo; when lads and lasses look upon each other with sweet thoughts; when busy housewives spread their linen to bleach upon the bright green grass.

View in context

Let this, my young readers, be your constant maxim, that no man can be good enough to enable him to neglect the rules of prudence; nor will Virtue herself look beautiful, unless she be bedecked with the outward ornaments of decency and decorum.

View in context

The appearance of the Knight Templar was also changed; and, though less studiously bedecked with ornament, his dress was as rich, and his appearance far more commanding, than that of his companion.

View in context

For one dazed moment Miss Polly looked at her bedecked self, and at her surroundings; then she gave a low cry and fled to her room.

View in context

At this early hour many sickly girls, whose business, like that of the poor worm, is to produce, with patient toil, the finery that bedecks the thoughtless and luxurious, traverse our streets, making towards the scene of their daily labour, and catching, as if by stealth, in their hurried walk, the only gasp of wholesome air and glimpse of sunlight which cheer their monotonous existence during the long train of hours that make a working day.

View in context

His hands, large and coarse, were plentifully bedecked with rings; and he wore a heavy gold watch-chain, with a bundle of seals of portentous size, and a great variety of colors, attached to it,--which, in the ardor of conversation, he was in the habit of flourishing and jingling with evident satisfaction.

View in context

In front of these were the high dignitaries of this mock heaven--gleaming blacks bedecked with precious stones, upon their foreheads the insignia of their rank set in circles of gold.

View in context

He was neatly attired in a plum-coloured coat, with as large a collar of black velvet as his figure could carry; a silken waistcoat, bedecked with golden sprigs; a chaste neckerchief much in vogue at that day, representing a preserve of lilac pheasants on a buff ground; pantaloons so highly decorated with side-stripes that each leg was a three-stringed lute; and a hat of state very high and hard.

View in context

I treasure the little characters who bedeck our tree.

LOST TRIBES The People's Memories

Bedeck already sells its bed and bath linens across the UK and the agreement with CHF Industries will see it break into the American market for the first time.

Firm embedded in US after signing sales deal; MIRRORBIZNI

All Bedeck. Katsura 110892 wallpaper, PS59 per roll, Harlequin

Adding a touch of romance; Buck the trend and stay home this Valentine's with warm and cosy touches for your love nest