cushion

Plural: cushions

Noun

a mechanical damper; absorbs energy of sudden impulses
the layer of air that supports a hovercraft or similar vehicle
a soft bag filled with air or a mass of padding such as feathers or foam rubber etc.
A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support.
A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support.
A throw pillow.
A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support.
A thin, flat pad used on hard chairs and sometimes toilet seats.
Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
A pad on which gilders cut gold leaf.
Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
A mass of steam in the end of the cylinder of a steam engine to receive the impact of the piston.
Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
The lip around a table in cue sports which absorbs some of the impact of the billiard balls and bounces them back.
Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
The pillow used in making bone lace.
Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
An engraver's pad.
Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
The rubber of an electrical machine.
Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
A pad supporting a woman's hair.
a sufficient quantity of an intangible object (like points or minutes) to allow for some of those points, for example, to be lost without hurting one's chances for successfully completing an objective.
a sufficient quantity of an intangible object (like points or minutes) to allow for some of those points, for example, to be lost without hurting one's chances for successfully completing an objective.
Money kept in reserve.
The dancer in the cushion dance who currently holds the cushion, or the dance itself.

Verb

Verb Forms: cushioned, cushioning, cushions

To provide with a soft pad; to protect against impact.
protect from impact
- "cushion the blow"
To furnish with cushions.
To seat or place on, or as on a cushion.
To absorb or deaden the impact of.
To conceal or cover up, as under a cushion.

Examples

He used a defensive play to CUSHION his lead, preventing any major counter-attacks.
to cushion a blow
to cushion a sofa

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English quysshyn, from later Old French coissin (modern coussin), from Vulgar Latin *coxīnus (“seat pad”), derived from Latin coxa (“hip, thigh”) (with the suffix possibly after Latin pulvīnus (“pillow”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *koḱs- (“joint, limb”).

Synonyms

buffer, shock, shock absorber, soften, cushion

Scrabble Score: 12

cushion: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
cushion: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
cushion: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

cushion: valid Words With Friends Word