CUSHION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cushion mean? 

• CUSHION (noun)
  The noun CUSHION has 3 senses:

1. a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses

2. the layer of air that supports a hovercraft or similar vehicle

3. a soft bag filled with air or a mass of padding such as feathers or foam rubber etc.

  Familiarity information: CUSHION used as a noun is uncommon.

• CUSHION (verb)
  The verb CUSHION has 1 sense:

1. protect from impact

  Familiarity information: CUSHION used as a verb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CUSHION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

cushion; shock; shock absorber

Context example:

the old car needed a new set of shocks

Hypernyms ("cushion" is a kind of...):

damper; muffler (a device that decreases the amplitude of electronic, mechanical, acoustical, or aerodynamic oscillations)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cushion"):

air cushion; air spring (a mechanical device using confined air to absorb the shock of motion)

Holonyms ("cushion" is a part of...):

suspension; suspension system (a mechanical system of springs or shock absorbers connecting the wheels and axles to the chassis of a wheeled vehicle)

Derivation:

cushion (protect from impact)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The layer of air that supports a hovercraft or similar vehicle

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("cushion" is a kind of...):

bed; layer (single thickness of usually some homogeneous substance)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A soft bag filled with air or a mass of padding such as feathers or foam rubber etc.

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Hypernyms ("cushion" is a kind of...):

cushioning; padding (artifact consisting of soft or resilient material used to fill or give shape or protect or add comfort)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cushion"):

air cushion; inflatable cushion (a cushion usually made of rubber or plastic that can be inflated)

gaddi (a cushion on a throne for a prince in India)

hassock (a cushion for kneeling on (as when praying in church))

head restraint; headrest (a cushion attached to the top of the back of an automobile's seat to prevent whiplash)

pillow (a cushion to support the head of a sleeping person)

pincushion (a small stiff cushion into which pins are stuck ready for use)

seat cushion (a cushion that makes a seat more comfortable)

throw pillow (a small cushion that is used for decorative purposes)

Derivation:

cushiony (softened by the addition of cushions or padding)

• CUSHION (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they cushion    ... he / she / it cushions   
Past simple: cushioned   
Past participle: cushioned   
-ing form: cushioning   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Protect from impact

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

buffer; cushion; soften

Context example:

cushion the blow

Hypernyms (to "cushion" is one way to...):

modify (make less severe or harsh or extreme)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

cushion (a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses)

cushioning (artifact consisting of soft or resilient material used to fill or give shape or protect or add comfort)

 Context examples 

Cardiac muscle lacking ALK3 is specifically deficient in expressing TGFb2, an established paracrine mediator of cushion morphogenesis.

(ALK Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

You can also injure other parts of the ankle such as tendons, which join muscles to bone, and cartilage, which cushions your joints.

(Ankle Injuries and Disorders, NIH)

They might also hide in the seams of chairs and couches, between cushions, and in the folds of curtains.

(Bedbugs, Environmental Protection Agency)

It forms a cushion to help the tendon or muscle slide smoothly over the bone.

(Bursitis, NCI Dictionary)

It's similar to how a sofa cushion decompresses when you remove your weight from it.

(Antarctica's Effect on Sea Level Rise in Coming Centuries, NASA)

Wife, go home, and give him a good dinner, and let him have my old cushion to sleep on as long as he lives.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

I replied, “I, Miss Mills! I have done it! Behold the destroyer!”—or words to that effect—and hid my face from the light, in the sofa cushion.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Holmes laughed softly to himself and stretched himself out upon the cushioned seat.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

These disks cushion the vertebrae and keep them in place.

(Herniated Disk, NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

He carried a cushion, upon which lay a small and fluffy lapdog.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)