- (North American English also pillow)
a cloth bag filled with soft material or feathers that is used, for example, to make a seat more comfortable 软垫；坐垫；靠垫 
matching curtains and cushions 颜色协调的窗帘与靠垫 a floor cushion (= a large cushion that you put on the floor to sit on) 地板坐垫 - (figurative)
a cushion of moss on a rock 岩石上的一层苔藓 I rested my elbow on a cushion. 我胳膊肘支着靠垫。 She plumped up the sofa cushions before the guests arrived. 客人到来之前，她把沙发垫子都拍蓬松了。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- plump
- soft
- couch
- …
- plump
- plump up
- cover
- on a/the cushion
a layer of something between two surfaces that keeps them apart （隔离两个表面的）垫 A hovercraft rides on a cushion of air. 气垫船悬浮在气垫上行驶。 Underlay forms a cushion between the carpet and the floor, to minimize wear. 底层在地毯和地板之间形成一个垫子，以尽量减少磨损。
- [usually singular] cushion (against something)
something that protects you against something unpleasant that might happen 起保护（或缓冲）作用的事物 (in the game of billiards, etc. 台球等运动 the soft inside edge along each side of the table that the balls bounce off （台球桌内侧边缘的）弹性衬里 
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French cuissin, based on a Latin word meaning ‘cushion for the hip’, from coxa ‘hip, thigh’. The Romans also had a word cubital ‘elbow cushion’, from cubitus ‘elbow’.