Definition of "deathbed" []

• The bed on which a person dies. (noun)
• The last hours before death. (noun)
• On (one's) deathbed Close to death. (idiom)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "You know, that last week people make what they call deathbed appointments, deathbed pardons."
• "A deathbed is a matter of nerves and constitution and not of religion."
• "He was too dangerous to be released a few weeks ago, but now Jack Straw, in his infinite mercy and wisdom, is prepared to let Biggs die in relative freedom - well, as free as any man can be on his deathbed, that is."