pillow
n. · v.-
1 bedding (n.) A1 Beginnera soft cushion that you put your head on when you are in bed.
a soft cushion used to support the head during sleep or rest.
ExampleHe fluffed his pillow before lying down to sleep.
ExampleThe hotel provides a variety of pillows, ranging from firm memory foam to soft goose down, to ensure guest comfort.
-
2 geology (n.) C2 Proficiency Technical Sciencea rounded shape of rock formed by lava cooling under the ocean.
a rounded, sack-like structure of basaltic rock formed by the rapid cooling of lava underwater.
ExampleThe divers photographed the strange pillow formations on the sea floor.
ExampleThe presence of pillow lava in the mountain range suggests that the entire region was once submerged beneath a prehistoric ocean.
- pillow lava
Show 2 more sensesShow fewer
-
3 engineering support (n.) C2 Proficiency Technical Computinga block or piece of material used to support a heavy part of a machine.
a support block, often made of metal or wood, designed to equalize pressure or house a bearing.
ExampleThe engineer checked the pillow block to make sure the shaft was spinning correctly.
ExampleThe heavy-duty pillow block was engineered to withstand the immense vibrational forces generated by the industrial turbine.
-
4 to rest your head (v.) B2 Upper Intermediate Literaryto rest your head on something soft, as if it were a pillow.
to rest or support something as if on a pillow; often used transitively with the head as the object.
ExampleShe pillowed her head on her arms and fell asleep at the desk.
ExampleThe child pillowed his head against his mother's shoulder, finally finding peace after a long day of travel.
From Middle English pilwe, from Old English pyle, pylu (“pillow”), from Proto-West Germanic *pulwī (“pillow”), from Latin pulvīnus (“cushion”), derived from pulvis (“dust, powder”) + -īnus (“-ine”), 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”).