Armchair Meaning
/ˈɑː(ɹ)mtʃɛə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA chair with supports for the arms or elbows.
nounA position removed from that which one is
Sentence Examples
Also, "armchair shopping" gets rid of the frustrations of crowds and traffic.
He settled down in his armchair to listen to the music.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He settled into his comfortable ____ to watch the evening news.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He sat in a comfortable ____ near the fireplace to read his new book.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *h₂er- Proto-Indo-European *h₂érmos Proto-Germanic *armaz Proto-West Germanic *arm Old English earm Middle English arm English arm Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥-th₂der.? Proto-Hellenic *kətá Ancient Greek κατά (katá) Proto-Indo-European *sed-der. Proto-Indo-European *sedreh₂ Proto-Hellenic *hédrā Ancient Greek ἕδρα (hédra) Ancient Greek κᾰθέδρᾱ (kăthédrā)bor. Latin cathedrader. Old French chaierebor. Middle English chayere English chair English armchair From arm + chair.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"There were many wooden chairs for the bulk of his visitors, and two wicker arm-chairs with red cloth cushions for superior people. From the packing-cases had also emerged some Indian clubs,[…]; and all these articles[…]made a scattered and untidy decoration that Mrs. Clough assiduously dusted and greatly cherished."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXIII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC, page 184:
"[W]hen he [Pooh] suddenly saw Piglet sitting in his best arm-chair, he could only stand there rubbing his head and wondering whose house he was in."
— 1928 October 11, A[lan] A[lexander] Milne, “In which a House is Built at Pooh Corner for Eeyore”, in The House at Pooh Corner, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 2:
"Evaluating possible etymologies requires a significant amount of knowledge about the speakers' lived reality […] for instance, the semantic connection between some species of plant and its use in traditional medicine may be fully transparent to a native speaker, but harder to understand from the perspective of a linguist's armchair."
— 2025, Cid Swanenvleugel, The Pre-Roman Elements of the Sardinian Lexicon, page 44:
"Armchair tourists who are used to travelling the globe with Google Earth can now use the same technology to crawl all over the masterpieces in one of the world's most famous galleries: the Prado."
— 2009 January 13, Giles Tremlett, “Google Earth brings masterpieces from Prado museum direct to armchair art lovers”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 15 Apr 2021:
"My point here is not that these new armchair soldiers are to be criticized for failing in their moral responsibilities. My point is rather that while drones are to be applauded for keeping these soldiers out of harm’s way physically, we would do well to remember that they do not keep them out of harm’s way morally or psychologically."
— 2013 March 17, John Kaag, “Drones, Ethics and the Armchair Soldier”, in The New York Times Opinionator, archived from the original on 10 Feb 2025:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He settled into his comfortable ____ to watch the evening news.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He sat in a comfortable ____ near the fireplace to read his new book.