[koo
sh-uhn] 
| 1. | a soft bag of cloth, leather, or rubber, filled with feathers, air, foam rubber, etc., on which to sit, kneel, or lie. |
| 2. | anything similar in form, used to dampen shocks or to prevent excessive pressure or chafing. |
| 3. | something to absorb or counteract a shock, jar, or jolt, as a body of air or steam. |
| 4. | something that lessens the effects of hardship, distress, or the like: His inheritance was a cushion against unemployment. |
| 5. | Anatomy, Zoology. any part or structure resembling a cushion. |
| 6. | the resilient raised rim encircling the top of a billiard table. |
| 7. | a pad worn under the hair by women. |
| 8. | a portion of a radio or television script that can be adjusted in length or cut out altogether in order to end the program on time. |
| 9. | Ice Hockey, Canadian. the iced surface of a rink. |
| 10. | a pillow used in lacemaking. |
| 11. | a leather pad on which gold leaf is placed preparatory to gilding. |
| 12. | to place on or support by a cushion. |
| 13. | to furnish with a cushion or cushions. |
| 14. | to cover or conceal with, or as if with, a cushion. |
| 15. | to lessen or soften the effects of: to cushion the blow to his pride. |
| 16. | to suppress (complaints, lamentations, etc.) by quietly ignoring. |
| 17. | to check the motion of (a piston or the like) by a cushion, as of steam. |
| 18. | to form (steam or the like) into a cushion. |
cushion cush·ion (k&oobreve;sh'ən)
n.
A padlike body part.