What does "sofa" mean?
A raised area of a building's floor, usually covered with carpeting, used for sitting.
Sofa
/ˈsəʊfə/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A raised area of a building's floor, usually covered with carpeting, used for sitting.
- Grammar: sofa is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: couch, bed, bedstead, bunk.
- Useful contrasts: wooden settle, adirondack, beds.
- Usage evidence: Having finished all her housework, she sat down on the sofa to watch television.
How to use "sofa"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sofa" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "sofa" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "sofa" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sofa" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "sofa" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "couch" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "sofa", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A raised area of a building's floor, usually covered with carpeting, used for sitting. East, Middle, archaic
- 2 A slave soldier who served in the army of the Mali Empire. historical
"1884 Sofas conquer northern Sierra Leone. The sofas were soldiers of Mandinka empire builder, Samori Turay. Falaba, capital of Solima Yalunka kingdom, destroyed in the process."
- 3 Acronym of status of forces agreement, an agreement that allows long-term garrisoning of foreign troops in the host country. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 4 an upholstered seat for more than one person wordnet
- 5 An upholstered seat with a raised back and one or two raised ends, long enough to comfortably accommodate two or more people.
"He bought a big sofa two days before his relatives arrived."
Verb
- 1 To furnish with one or more sofas.
"The appearance of a student's apartment, though by no means splendid, is decidedly comfortable ; it is well cushioned and sofaed, with a proper proportion of arm chairs, and a general air of respectability — much better on the whole than our student's rooms ever are."
- 2 To seat or lay down on a sofa.
"Cliques of three or more are formed, each member of which goes in search of victims, and the first female found complaining of pain in the lower part of her back, is immediately run down, corralled, cornered, so to speak, and sans ceremonie she is at once tabled, sofaed or beded, or in the absence of these relics of refinement she is floored or she may have to submit standing (especially if the doctor is in a hury and meets her at the gate or corner drug store) with an unerring plunge, of a not overly clean index finger, the darksome cavern is penetrated and perhaps, not, a cervix is touched and reveals, of course, a lacerated cervix, just as had been predicted."
Proper Noun
- 1 Acronym of Standards of Fundamental Astronomy. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
- 2 Acronym of Simulation Open Framework Architecture. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Having finished all her housework, she sat down on the sofa to watch television."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sofa"?
Common synonyms include: couch, bed, bedstead, bunk, canapé, chesterfield.
How do you use "sofa" in a sentence?
Having finished all her housework, she sat down on the sofa to watch television.
How do you pronounce "sofa"?
Pronounced /ˈsəʊfə/.
Etymology
Borrowed from French sofa, ultimately from Arabic صُفَّة (ṣuffa, “a long seat made of stone or brick, covered with rich carpets and cushions and used for sitting”). Cognate with Aramaic צפא/Classical Syriac ܨܦܬܐ (ṣipā’, ṣeppəṯā, “mat, matting”). The word may have entered European languages via Muslim Iberia or through Turkish.