sofa
Americannoun
-
sofas
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of sofa
1615–25; < Turkish < Arabic ṣuffah platform used as a seat
Explanation
A sofa is a piece of furniture that a few people can comfortably sit on together. On a rainy weekend, you and your friends might pile on the sofa to watch scary movies and eat popcorn. A sofa is similar to a couch — officially, it needs to seat at least three or more people to qualify as a sofa. If only two people can fit, it's a love seat. And if it's only big enough for you and your pet hedgehog, it's an armchair. Sofas are typically upholstered, with a high back and arms. The word originated from Turkish, from an Arabic root, suffa, "bench of stone or wood."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It is not the first time the studio's red sofa has been out on the road.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
She said she was expecting the sofa push to be one of her toughest challenges yet.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
But her old sofa is threadbare, and she no longer has to worry about pets ruining her furniture, so she is ready for an upgrade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Instead, it was a sales manager in Bargersville, Ind., named AJ Woodin, sitting on his sofa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The common area has an old TV, a worn-out sofa missing cushions, and a bookshelf full of dog-eared paperbacks and bent-up board games.
From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko
In 2024, Miami-based TOV Furniture sourced 60% of its sofas, beds and other products from China, and only 25% from Vietnam.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Anecdotes and analysis are interspersed with photos of all sorts of sofas and couches, calling into question ideas about where and how we find respite and support — or not.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
One of the home’s more fascinating features is a sunken conversation pit lined with sumptuous sofas in the living room.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
"Wall cabinets, sofas, coffee tables, dining tables, and chairs vanished in an instant. It was as if the entire building had been hollowed out," Wang told the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
In the front room were two sofas, an upright piano, and a tiny artificial Christmas tree which had been there, decorated and dustladen, for two years.
From "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
