cushion /ˈkʊʃən/noun 14verb 4forms 3phrases 1 noun14 •A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support. •(Commonwealth) A throw pillow. •A thin, flat pad used on hard chairs and sometimes toilet seats. •A pad on which gilders cut gold leaf. •The pillow used in making bone lace. •An engraver's pad. •(historical) A pad supporting a woman's hair. •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. •The lip around a table in cue sports which absorbs some of the impact of the billiard balls and bounces them back. •(historical) The rubber of an electrical machine. •(figurative) 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.It will most likely not alter the destination of the league title, which still seems bound for City, who retain an 11-point cushion at the top — 2021 •(figurative) Money kept in reserve.Interest coverage is important because it is an indicator of how much cushion a company has in making its interest payments. — 2007 •(historical) The dancer in the cushion dance who currently holds the cushion, or the dance itself. verb4 •To absorb or deaden the impact of.[…]the development of popular interest in Parliament made it less possible for the Privy Council in Dublin to cushion a bill which the Commons had presented to the Lord Lieutenant[…] — 1903 •To seat or place on, or as on a cushion. •To furnish with cushions. •(figurative) To conceal or cover up, as under a cushion. formscushioned · cushioning · cushions Phrases with cushion king's cushionA four-handed seat made by two people crossing their hands and holding their own wrist with one hand, and holdin the wrist of the other person with the other hand
