Sometimes it can be confusing knowing whether to use the word “pillow” or “cushion” when talking about pillows. I mean, cushions. :).

In preparing to launch our new Embroider Buddy® Home Collection line, we noticed customers referring to both pillows and cushions either interchangeably or as two different things. So, we decided to do a little research and thought you might be interested in our findings too.

It seems as though in North America, the word “pillow” is used more often than the word cushion. Most of us use the word pillow interchangeably, no matter if we are talking about a pillow for your bed or a pillow that is on your couch as a form of home décor. Whereas in the UK, it seems that there is a specific time and place to use each word. The word “pillow” is used primarily for the pillow that is placed on your bed and a “cushion” is a cushion on your couch.

We thought we’d see what the definitions of each word are. Using the Merriam-Webster dictionary these two words are defined as the following;

Pillow
noun pil·low ˈpi-(ˌ)lō

1a :  a support for the head of a reclining person; especially:  one consisting of a cloth bag filled with feathers, down, sponge rubber, or plastic fiber
b :  something resembling a pillow especially in form

Cushion
noun cush·ion ˈku̇-shən
1 :  a soft pillow or pad usually used for sitting, reclining, or kneeling

That didn’t really help us clear up the pillow vs. cushion debate, did it? What are you thoughts and feelings on this matter? Let us know in the comments if you agree with our findings and whether or not you use the words pillow and cushion interchangeably, or if you agree a pillow is for a bed and a cushion is found on a couch.