pillow

CEFRB1

/ˈpɪl.əʊ/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A soft cushion used to support your head in bed.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A pillow lava.

Examples

  • I had a lot of pillow fights during my school trip.

  • Junk bond dealers left the market riding on a pillow of air.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
3

Also pronounced

  • /ˈpɛl.oʊ/
  • /ˈpɪl.oʊ/ [ˈpʰɪɫ.ö̞]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Any similar head support used for sleep, such as a neck pillow or a hard porcelain pillow. Example: She slept with her head on the pillow.

  2. A soft cushion used to support the head in bed.

  3. A piece of metal or wood, forming a support to equalize pressure; a brass; a pillow block.

More examples

In context

  • ...but Lucy was too thoroughly exhausted to awaken. There she lay, her head pillowed upon her arm, like a child that had cried itself to rest; while Francesca bent over her,...

  • The appearance of the entire tomb is as if the warrior had seen the vision of Christ in his dying moments, and had fallen back peacefully upon his pillow, with his eyes still turned to it, and his hands clasped in prayer.

  • She had pillowed her head on her arm.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

She placed a soft blank under her head before going to sleep at night.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English pilwe, from Old English pyle, pylu (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *pulwī (“pillow”), from Latin pulvīnus (“cushion”), derived from pulvis (“dust”), for the filler of a pillow. Doublet of pulvinus. Cognate with Saterland Frisian Peel (“pillow”), Alemannic German Pfulme (“pillow”), Dutch peluw (“a long, narrow pillow”), German Pfühl (“a big and soft pillow”), German Low German Pöhl (“pad, pillow, cushion”).