cushion

/ˈkʊʃən/

//ˈkʊʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"cushion" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“cushion” has 10 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,316. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,316
frequency rank, English
5,599
“C” headwords
10
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support.

Corpus desk

Index EN-cushion · cushion · English

cushion · rank #13,316 · 10 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,316
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 10 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 5,599
  • PHOTO-FINISH courtroom

Nearest frequency peer: courtroom (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “cushion”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “cushion” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

cushion vs cushions
88% similar
cushion vs cushioned
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for cushion
PropertyValue
Headwordcushion
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈkʊʃən/
Letters7
Frequency rank#13,316
Misspellings tracked10
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “cushion”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).cushionlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “courtroom” (#13,315), “cyclist” (#13,317), “conveniently” (#13,314). Among 5,599 “C” headwords, “cushion” is #13,316. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 10 spelling variants around cushion (IPA /ˈkʊʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #13,316 among 5,599 “C” headwords. Wiktionary lists 13 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for cushion, with forms such as "ccushion", "csuhion", and "cuhsion". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "cushions", "cushioned", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 *ko… The correct English form is cushion, spelled C-U-S-H-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support.
  2. 2
    A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support.
  3. 3
    A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support.
  4. 4
    Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
  5. 5
    Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
  6. 6
    Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
  7. 7
    Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
  8. 8
    Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
  9. 9
    Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
  10. 10
    Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.
  11. 11
    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.
  12. 12
    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.
  13. 13
    The dancer in the cushion dance who currently holds the cushion, or the dance itself.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how cushion appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. “There the cause of death was soon ascertained ; the victim of this daring outrage had been stabbed to death from ear to ear with a long, sharp instrument, in shape like an antique stiletto, which […] was subsequently found under the cushions of the hansom.[…]”
  2. There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker armchairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had emerged some Indian clubs,[…], and all these articles[…] made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished.

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

cushion

This word in other languages

cojín(Español)coussin(Français)Kissen(Deutsch)almofada(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ccushion
  • csuhion
  • cuhsion
  • cushhion
  • cushino
  • cushionn
  • cushoin
  • cusihon
  • cusshion
  • ucshion

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of cushion - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ccushion1csuhion2cuhsion2cushhion1cushino2cushionn1cushoin2cusihon2
Edit distance from "cushion"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "cushion"?
"cushion" is spelled C-U-S-H-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈkʊʃən/.
What does "cushion" mean?
As a noun, "cushion" means: A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support.
What words are commonly confused with "cushion"?
"cushion" is commonly confused with "cushions", "cushioned". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "cushion"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "cushion" is /ˈkʊʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "cushion"?
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-Eu... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "cushion", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

cyclist#13,317dictate#13,320choking#13,299endured#13,336

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (10 here; floor ≥5).

Cheryl10 variantsfearful10 variantsfestive10 variantsforeman10 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list