sofa
Americannoun
-
sofas
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
BBC Breakfast co-host Naga Munchetty is leaving the show after 17 years, and will swap the TV sofa for the presenter's chair on Radio 5 Live's breakfast show.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 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
In 2022, an independent panel said Ramaphosa might have a case to answer after burglars stole huge sums of cash, hidden in a sofa, from his private farm.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
According to the ministry, a sofa originally listed at 4,500 euros cost taxpayers around 2,000 euros, while a coat rack was reduced from 620 euros to 330 euros.
From Barron's ● Jul. 17, 2026
I sit on the sofa bed and make a big show of changing my socks.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Although the company never spells it out explicitly, Birkin collectors say that shoppers who buy $100,000 sofas and $20,000 watches get offered the bags first.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
One of the home’s more fascinating features is a sunken conversation pit lined with sumptuous sofas in the living room.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Television characters sitting around having conversations on sofas has served prolific producer Chuck Lorre very well.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
"Wall cabinets, sofas, coffee tables, dining tables, and chairs vanished in an instant. It was as if the entire building had been hollowed out," Wang told the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald.
From Barron's ● Jul. 7, 2026
Plush chairs and sofas are strewn around the room.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
