upholstery

UK/ʌpˈhəʊlstəɹi/

nounC1Common in everyday speech and writing · #7,888 of 15,258neutral

Upholstery is the soft padded covering of sofas and chairs. Springs, foam, and fabric stretched over the lot.

It names both the material and the craft, so a chair has upholstery and an upholsterer puts it on. Reupholstering an old frame is often better than buying new, since the frames were made properly. Cars have upholstery too, and leather upholstery is a selling point. The word comes from upholder, an old term for a dealer in second-hand furniture.

Definitions of upholstery

1nounupholsteryThe padding and fabric covering furniture.C1
“The upholstery was worn through on both arms.”

Where it comes from

First recorded in 1597; from upholster or upholster(er) + -(er)y or -y.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Around the House, A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 13 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

upholstery in the wild

The Company originally had the right to set standards for upholstery within London and to search, seize and destroy defective upholstery.
Worshipful Company of Upholders
In support of the upholstery and soft furnishing trade, the Livery provides prizes and bursaries to students studying these crafts.
Worshipful Company of Upholders
Leather is also used in cars, upholstery, interior decorating, horse tack and harnesses.
Hide (skin)
An upholstery hammer (also called a tack hammer) is a lightweight hammer used for securing upholstery fabric to furniture frames using tacks or small nails.
Upholstery hammer
The head of an upholstery hammer is narrow and roughly 12-15mm in diameter.
Upholstery hammer

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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