hospital corner

noun

plural hospital corners
: a neatly folded corner on a bed formed when the corner of a sheet or bedspread is tucked under the mattress
The boys wore knickers to school, and, starting at age five, made their own beds, with hospital corners.Dale Russakoff
The couple were gone, but the bed was made with hospital corners and a thin brown blanket.Sam Lipsyte

Examples of hospital corner in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web If the Broadway production had hospital corners, this is an untucked top sheet. EW.com, 29 Jan. 2024 Instead, the bottom sheet is a flat sheet tucked in with hospital corners for a perfectly smooth fit. Melissa Locker, Southern Living, 2 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hospital corner.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hospital corner was in 1907

Dictionary Entries Near hospital corner

Cite this Entry

“Hospital corner.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hospital%20corner. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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