cushion

1. A soft mass of material stuffed into a cloth bag, used for comfort or support.Commonwealthcountableuncountable

2. Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.countableuncountable

3. Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.countablehistoricaluncountable

4. Something acting as a cushion, especially to absorb a shock or impact.countablehistoricaluncountable

5. (figuratively) a sufficient quantity of an intangible object (like points or minutes) to allow for some of those points, for example, to be lost without hurting one's chances for successfully completing an objective.Examples: "Wisla made a bright start to the second half and Fulham keeper Mark Schwarzer was twice called into action, first saving Gervasio Nunez's deflected 20-yard effort and then smothering Gargula's free-kick. But Fulham soon had the cushion of a third goal after more outstanding build-up play."; "It will most likely not alter the destination of the league title, which still seems bound for City, who retain an 11-point cushion at the top"countablefigurativelyuncountable

6. (figuratively) a sufficient quantity of an intangible object (like points or minutes) to allow for some of those points, for example, to be lost without hurting one's chances for successfully completing an objective.Examples: "The entry-level wages are abominable, still something like $15,000 a year. You can't possibly be a working class person and live on that in New York City. You need some kind of family "cushion." So what you'll find in publishing is middle class professionals, people who see material about working class people as "foreign.""; "Interest coverage is important because it is an indicator of how much cushion a company has in making its interest payments."; "If one of the banks has a significant enough cushion of capital and a strong enough balance sheet, then it would not experience a bank run, and the domino effect in panel A would not have occurred."countablefigurativelyuncountable