What does pillow mean?
A pillow is a soft, padded object, usually covered with fabric, that supports a person's head while they lie down. Pillows can also provide support or comfort elsewhere on the body and may be decorative. In figurative language, the word suggests softness, comfort, protection, or a secure resting place. The verb “to pillow” is less common: it can mean to rest the head on a pillow, but it is also used metaphorically to describe cushioning or protecting a person or thing. Across its uses, pillow remains associated with the familiar physical objects used in sleep and relaxation. The word also appears in compounds such as pillowcase and in established expressions concerning sleep, secrecy, or domestic play. Although its basic sense is straightforward, pillow combines a concrete household meaning with a versatile figurative vocabulary centered on rest, support, and protection.
A removable, soft support, usually covered with fabric, on which a person rests their head while lying down; more broadly, a padded cushion used for comfort or support.
"A square pillow provided extra support behind his shoulders."
The word is neutral and common in both British and American English.
To rest or support the head on a pillow; by extension, to cushion, support, or shelter something.
"She pillowed her injured arm against a cushion."
This use is less frequent than the noun and often occurs in figurative or literary contexts.
The regular plural takes the ending -s; the plural is pronounced with the same final sound as the singular.
"The guest room has two pillows on each bed."
A pillow is both the object you sleep on and a verb meaning to cushion or support something.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pillow come from?
The word entered Middle English in the fourteenth century in forms such as pilwe and pillow, borrowed from Anglo-French and Old French pillow. The French forms are generally traced to Medieval Latin piluia, which belongs to a wider Latin pil- family represented in English by words such as pile, pillar, pillory, and pillage, although the precise remote development is debated. The English noun developed its familiar sense of a head support, while the verbal use developed from the idea of resting or cushioning something on a pillow.
Related word forms
How pillow is actually used
The noun is standard in everyday British and American English. The verb is much less common and can sound formal, literary, or figurative, especially when it means to cushion or shelter something.
Easily confused with pillow
A pillow is a soft support for the head or body, whereas a billow is a swelling wave, cloud, or mass.