sofa
Americannoun
noun
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.
Wallpaper and color and throw pillows can make an old sofa look and feel like a throne.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 17, 2026
The couple had propaganda posters from the German Democratic Republic above their sofa, perhaps because his now wife, who had been to East Germany, considered it a workers’ mecca.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
The well-worn sofa and adjacent armchairs suggest it’s because people sit in it.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
He said he was on the sofa watching rugby and saw the players "falling off the screen", so headed to the hospital where doctors told him he had a brain aneurysm "that started to leak".
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
“Just some chairs and tables and a sofa and a big coffee pot and a little refrigerator.”
From "The Best School Year Ever" by Barbara Robinson
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.
