noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of plush
First recorded in 1585–95; 1920–25 plush for def. 2; from French pluche, syncopated variant of peluche, ultimately from Latin pilus “hair”
Explanation
Things that are plush are luxurious and a little over the top. A bedspread made of mink fur would be considered plush. Plush originally referred to a rich, soft type of fabric, and it’s now used to describe anything extravagant. A plush lifestyle is one only the wealthy can afford, with expensive restaurants, obedient servants, and fancy furniture. A plush living room is full of paintings and decorations. Someone who dresses in a plush way only buys the finest, most expensive clothing. Plush living is lavish living.
Vocabulary lists containing plush
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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:
“Today I have put aside my plush ball in search of the real,” Gelsomina thinks, amusingly invoking semioticians such as Jean Baudrillard, who explored simulacra and authenticity.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Everything was brown,” Weger says as she sits on a plush sofa covered in pink and chartreuse striped Christian Lacroix fabric.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Past the stalls and the sinks through another door lies plush red velvet, shadows, and the hum of 1950.
From Salon ● Jun. 23, 2026
Outside of sport, Murray and Kim continue to be hands on in running their plush hotel near his hometown of Dunblane.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Both had once been exquisite, but now the plush had worn away at the elbows and hips.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
You can use a large chicken egg, but if you want to replicate this plusher bun, here’s a trick: Use 1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 27, 2022
While resting my doughs did not make any cookie chewier — in fact, it resulted in a softer, plusher texture across the board — the tweak did result in markedly better-tasting cookies.
From Salon ● Nov. 3, 2021
The plusher environs of the two-level space formerly home to Barca, at 1510 11th Ave., might be a bit of a departure from the funky-cozy cafe’s old U District digs.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 7, 2021
The primary goal is to provide plusher space for legislators, their staffs and the governor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2021
The president, my grandmother, rises from a seat that’s plusher than the rest.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
She and her sister, Marie-Jeanne, grew up in a luxurious apartment in the plushest district of the city.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
In its plushest, most prolific pocket, ‘ulu trees, with their large, glossy-green leaves outstretched, hold court. The endemic māmaki shrub grows in sun-dappled spots around the ‘ulu.
From Salon ● Dec. 7, 2023
When he handed over power to his successor, Uhuru Kenyatta, in 2013, Kibaki retreated to his home in one of Nairobi’s plushest neighbourhoods, close to his beloved Muthaiga golf club.
From Reuters ● Apr. 22, 2022
And so it is at Frick Madison: an unexpectedly audacious transmutation of the city’s plushest museum within Marcel Breuer’s home for the Whitney Museum of American Art.
From New York Times ● Feb. 25, 2021
But any house in which a man is free is a castle when compared to even the plushest prison.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions 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.
