furniture

American  

[fur-ni-cher] / ˈfɜr nɪ tʃər /

noun

1. the movable articles, as tables, chairs, desks or cabinets, required for use or ornament in a house, office, or the like.

2. fittings, apparatus, or necessary accessories for something.

3. equipment for streets and other public areas, as lighting standards, signs, benches, or litter bins.

4. Also called bearer.  Also called dead metal.  Printing. pieces of wood or metal, less than type high, set in and about pages of type to fill them out and hold the type in place in a chase.

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furniture British  

/ ˈfɜːnɪtʃə /

noun

1. the movable, generally functional, articles that equip a room, house, etc

2. the equipment necessary for a ship, factory, etc

3. printing lengths of wood, plastic, or metal, used in assembling formes to create the blank areas and to surround the type

4. the wooden parts of a rifle

5. obsolete the full armour, trappings, etc, for a man and horse

6. the attitudes or characteristics that are typical of a person or thing

   the furniture of the murderer's mind

7. informal someone or something that is so long established in an environment as to be accepted as an integral part of it

   he has been here so long that he is part of the furniture

8. See door furniture street furniture

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Other Word Forms

• furnitureless adjective

Etymology

Origin of furniture

1520–30; < French fourniture, derivative of fournir to furnish

Example Sentences

The palazzo is filled with ornate wall coverings and moldings, rococo furniture and artworks, and marble floors with intricately detailed inlays.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the South in the springtime, “your cars and outdoor furniture can be covered in bright yellow,” says Molly, 44.

From The Wall Street Journal

As Wong expected, the project ran into roadblocks with local authorities, who were concerned the library was a "fire hazard" and objected to volunteers bringing in their own furniture.

From BBC

Carson resident Evy Llamas recalled seeing furniture constantly moving in and out from the house down the street, new faces coming and going, and what appeared to be heavy clutter inside.

From Los Angeles Times

Parks confirmed that some of that money went to a party, as well as paying for furniture.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• appliance
• bed
• bookcase
• chair
• couch
• desk
• equipment
• goods
• sofa
• table