pillow
gb/pˈɪloʊ/ us/pˈɪloʊ/
A2
Engleză
~ 8700
Sensuri
0 sensuri
Substantiv
A2
entity
1
soft cushion for your head in bed
A soft thing filled with feathers, foam, or other material that you put your head on when you sleep.
Tipar de utilizare:
sleep on a [adjective] pillow
Greșeală frecventă:
Learners sometimes confuse "pillow" and "cushion." In many varieties of English, a "pillow" is mainly for the bed and sleeping, while a "cushion" is usually on chairs or sofas. Also, some learners mistakenly call the cover a "pillow" instead of a "pillowcase."
Sinonime
cushion (General word for a soft pad; not all cushions are used for sleeping, while a pillow is most often for the bed.)
|
headrest (Often harder or built-in (e.g. in cars or chairs); less about comfort in bed and more about basic support.)
Antonime
hard surface (Highlights the lack of softness or padding that a pillow normally provides.)
Colocații
soft pillow
|firm pillow
|fluffy pillow
|extra pillow
|pillow case
|sleep on a pillow
Teme
daily life
|home
|sleep
|daily_life
|housing
|core_vocabulary
Exemple
- I like to sleep with a very firm pillow to support my neck.
- She fluffed up her pillow before turning off the light.
- The hotel room was nice, but the pillows were too flat for me.
- He put an extra pillow under his knees to relieve the pressure on his back.
- The child hugged his pillow and fell asleep during the movie.
Exemple pentru cursanți
- I put my head on the pillow and closed my eyes.
- Do you want one pillow or two?
- This pillow is very soft and comfortable.
- She bought a new pillow and a clean pillow case.
- He cannot sleep without his favorite pillow.
Substantiv
B1
entity
2
small decorative cushion on furniture
A small soft pillow that you put on a sofa, chair, or bed to make it look nice and feel more comfortable.
Tipar de utilizare:
a [adjective] pillow on the sofa
Greșeală frecventă:
Learners may think this is a completely different word from the bed "pillow." In everyday English, both are called "pillow," though many speakers prefer "cushion" for pillows on sofas and chairs. Context and position (bed vs. sofa) usually make the meaning clear.
Sinonime
cushion (Commonly used for decorative pads on sofas and chairs; in some dialects this is the more usual term than "pillow" for this sense.)
|
throw cushion (BrE-style term; specifically highlights that it is small and decorative, often loosely placed.)
Antonime
bare sofa (Emphasizes the lack of decorative or soft items where such pillows would normally be placed.)
Colocații
throw pillow
|decorative pillow
|sofa pillow
|couch pillow
|accent pillow
Teme
home
|daily life
|design
|daily_life
|housing
Exemple
- She arranged a few bright pillows on the sofa to add some color to the room.
- The dog jumped up and curled into the corner between the two throw pillows.
- He bought new blue pillows for the couch to match the curtains.
- There were decorative pillows piled at the head of the bed.
- The kids used the sofa pillows to make a little nest on the floor.
Exemple pentru cursanți
- There are many small pillows on the sofa.
- She put a red pillow on the chair.
- I like to hug the big pillow when I watch TV.
- They bought new pillows to make the bed look nicer.
- The cat is sleeping on a soft pillow on the couch.
Substantiv
C1
entity
3
soft protective layer or buffer
Something that protects you or makes a bad thing feel less strong, like extra money or time that helps you if there is a problem.
Tipar de utilizare:
a [noun] pillow against [something bad]
Greșeală frecventă:
Learners may not realize that "pillow" can be used metaphorically like "cushion" or "buffer." It does not mean a physical pillow in these uses, but something that softens or protects you from a bad situation.
Sinonime
buffer (More formal and common in business or technical contexts; focuses on reducing impact.)
|
cushion (Very close in meaning; widely used metaphorically to talk about protection from risk or impact.)
Antonime
exposure (Indicates being unprotected and fully open to risk or damage, the opposite of having a 'pillow' or cushion.)
Colocații
financial pillow
|cash pillow
|pillow of savings
|pillow of air
Teme
business
|safety
|metaphor
|finance
|core_vocabulary
Exemple
- The company kept a large cash pillow to survive any sudden drop in sales.
- Their savings provided a small financial pillow during the months he was unemployed.
- The tax cut was meant to be a pillow against rising living costs.
- Insurance can act as a pillow between families and unexpected medical bills.
- The extra week gave us a time pillow in case the project ran late.
Exemple pentru cursanți
- They saved money as a pillow for hard times.
- His parents gave him some cash as a pillow when he moved to a new city.
- The company keeps extra money as a pillow in case business is bad.
- Having good friends is an emotional pillow when life is difficult.
- The extra day was a small pillow so we did not feel so rushed.
Verb
C1
action
4
to support gently like a pillow
To put something, often your head or another body part, on something soft so it is gently held and feels comfortable.
Tipar de utilizare:
[someone] pillows [something] on/against [something soft]
Greșeală frecventă:
Learners may not realize that "pillow" can be a verb. It is less common than the noun and often appears in stories or descriptive writing. It usually means gentle, soft support, not just any kind of support.
Sinonime
cushion (Often used in both literal and figurative senses; can sound slightly more formal, especially in figurative contexts.)
|
cradle (Adds a sense of gentle holding and care, often with emotional warmth.)
Antonime
jolt (Suggests a sudden, rough movement or impact rather than gentle soft support.)
Colocații
pillow her head
|pillow his cheek
|pillowed on his arm
|pillowed against the cushions
|pillowed in her hands
Teme
daily life
|body
|literature
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Exemple
- She pillowed her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
- He folded his jacket and pillowed his cheek on it while waiting at the airport.
- The cat lay on the windowsill, its paws pillowed on its tail.
- She sat at the desk with her face pillowed in her hands.
- Snow had pillowed softly against the base of the wall.
Exemple pentru cursanți
- He pillowed his head on his bag and tried to sleep.
- She pillowed her face in her hands and sighed.
- The child pillowed his head on his mother’s lap.
- I pillowed my arm on the table and rested.
- Her feet were pillowed on a soft cushion.
Gramatică
Forma de dicționar
pillow
IPA
GB/pˈɪloʊ/
US/pˈɪloʊ/
Silabe și accent
pil - low (2 silabe)
Stress on 1st syllable (pil)
Forme ale cuvântului
Noun
- Base: pillow
- Plural: pillows
Verb
- Base: pillow
- 3rd Person Singular: pillows
- Present Participle: pillowing
- Past: pillowed
Familie de cuvinte
Forms
pillows
noun
pillowing
verb
pillowed
verb
Core family
pillowcase
noun A2
Related words
pillowy
adjective
Expresii
pillow fight
1/pˈɪloʊ fˈaɪt/
fixed phrase
informal
playful hitting with pillows
A fun game or fight where people hit each other with pillows, usually for play and not to hurt anyone.
Exemple
- The kids had a loud pillow fight before bedtime.
- They ended the sleepover with a huge pillow fight in the living room.
- A stray feather flew out during the pillow fight and made everyone laugh.
pillow fort
1/pˈɪloʊ fˈɔɹt/
fixed phrase
informal
play structure made from pillows
A small house or wall that children build using pillows, cushions, and blankets, usually for fun inside the home.
Exemple
- The children spent the afternoon building a huge pillow fort in the living room.
- We hid in our pillow fort and pretended we were in a castle.
- After the movie, they took apart the pillow fort and put everything back on the sofa.
pillow talk
1/pˈɪloʊ tˈɔk/
idiom
informal
intimate talk in bed between lovers
Quiet, personal, and often romantic conversation between two people, usually when they are in bed together.
Exemple
- After the lights went out, they had a long session of pillow talk about their future together.
- The scene ends with some sweet pillow talk between the main couple.
- She missed the late-night pillow talk more than anything else after the breakup.
throw pillow
1/θɹˈoʊ pˈɪloʊ/
fixed phrase
small decorative pillow for furniture
A small pillow used mainly to make a sofa, chair, or bed look nice and feel a bit more comfortable.
Exemple
- She bought a few new throw pillows to brighten up the couch.
- The bed was covered with matching throw pillows in different sizes.
- I moved the throw pillow so I could sit more comfortably.