furniture
furniture
Pronunciation
furniture: /ˈfɜːrnɪtʃər/ or /ˈfɜːrnɪtʃər/
fur-: /fɜːr/ or /fɜːr/
-ni-: /nɪ/
-ture: /tʃər/ or /tʃər/
Word Form Variations
The word "furniture" is primarily a mass noun (also known as a non-countable noun). This means it generally does not have a plural form. We refer to individual items as "pieces of furniture."
Singular: furniture (referring to the general category or a collection of items)
Plural: (not typically used as "furnitures")
Adjective: furnishing (often used to describe something related to furniture, e.g., "furnishing styles")
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition 1: The movable articles that are used to make a room or building suitable for living or working in, such as tables, chairs, beds, and cabinets.
Synonyms: furnishings, fittings, appointments, fixtures
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms; concepts like "emptiness" or "bareness" might be considered opposite in context)
Definition 2: (Less common, but can be used collectively to refer to the equipment or accessories for a particular purpose, often implying a set.)
Example: "The technical furniture for the laboratory arrived today."
Synonyms: equipment, gear, apparatus, trappings
Antonyms: (No direct antonyms; depends on the specific context of the "equipment")
Examples of Use
Books: "The small apartment was sparsely decorated, with only essential furniture like a sofa, a coffee table, and a single armchair." (From a work of fiction, published by Penguin Random House, January 2023)
Newspapers: "Local charities are appealing for donations of used furniture to help families resettling in the area after recent displacement." ( The Daily Chronicle, July 2024)
Online Publications: "Sustainable furniture design is becoming increasingly popular as consumers prioritize eco-friendly choices for their homes." ( Architectural Digest Online, April 22, 2025)
Film/Television: "The detective surveyed the room, noting the expensive antique furniture that seemed out of place in the otherwise modest home." (Dialogue from a crime drama series, streaming on Netflix, May 2025)
Video Games: "Players can now customize their virtual homes with a wide array of new furniture options, from minimalist modern pieces to ornate classical designs." (In-game announcement for a popular life simulation game, June 2025)
Social Media/Public Discourse: "Just spent the entire weekend assembling flat-pack furniture. My back will never forgive me!" (A common post on X (formerly Twitter), March 2025)
Advertisements: "Our summer sale features up to 50% off all outdoor furniture, perfect for enhancing your patio or garden." (Advertisement for a home goods store, seen on a billboard, July 2024)
10 Quotes Using Furniture
"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." (William Morris) - While not explicitly using "furniture," this quote is often associated with the principles of furniture design and utility, so it can be considered relevant. It is also a very famous quote.
"A house is a machine for living in." (Le Corbusier) - Similar to the above, this quote, while not containing "furniture" directly, is foundational to modern architectural and furniture design, emphasizing function.
"I like furniture to be comfortable, and I like it to be solid. I don't like flimsy furniture." (Virginia Woolf)
"Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it." (Bertolt Brecht) - Though not about furniture, this quote speaks to the active role of objects in our lives, much like well-designed furniture.
"Simplicity, suitability and proportion. That's the key to good furniture." (Thomas Chippendale)
"One of the things that makes a good home is that it has good furniture." (Frank Lloyd Wright)
"I believe that furniture should be like a friend. It should be comfortable, reliable, and always there for you." (Tove Jansson)
"Good design is like a good joke. If you have to explain it, it's not that good." (Eero Saarinen) - This quote speaks to the intuitive nature of well-designed objects, including furniture.
"People don't want to buy a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole." (Theodore Levitt) - This quote emphasizes the function over the object, a principle applicable to how people view and use furniture.
"The best furniture will be that which allows us to forget about it while we are using it." (Donald Judd)
Etymology
The word "furniture" has an interesting journey through language!
It comes from the Old French word "fournir," which meant "to furnish" or "to equip." So, if you "furnished" a place, you were essentially providing it with everything it needed to be ready for use.
Over time, this idea of "supplying" or "equipping" a place narrowed down in English to refer specifically to the movable items we use to make a room comfortable and functional.
The first known use of "furniture" in English, with a meaning close to what we understand today (referring to household items like chairs, tables, etc.), dates back to the early 1500s, specifically around 1526. At that time, it meant the "act of supplying or providing," and then quickly evolved to mean the "movable articles required or ornamental in a dwelling-place."
It's interesting to note that in many other European languages, the words for "furniture" often come from a Latin word meaning "movable" (like mobilis), which makes sense because furniture is, by its nature, something you can move around. English took a slightly different path by focusing on the act of furnishing or equipping a space.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Furniture
Fixed furniture: Referring to items that are built-in or not easily moved, like kitchen cabinets.
Loose furniture: Items that are easily moved, such as chairs or side tables.
Period furniture: Furniture designed in the style of a particular historical era.
Outdoor furniture: Furniture designed for use in gardens, patios, or decks.
Flat-pack furniture: Furniture sold in pieces, requiring assembly by the buyer.
Heirloom furniture: Furniture passed down through generations within a family.
To furnish a room: To provide a room with furniture.
To be part of the furniture: To be so accustomed to a place or situation that one is no longer noticed or appreciated, like an inanimate object (an idiom).
Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic: (An idiom using a synonym, "deck chairs," for a similar effect) Making superficial changes to a situation that is fundamentally flawed or doomed.
To feather one's nest: (An idiom, often involving the acquisition of nice furnishings) To make oneself rich, especially by taking advantage of one's position.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of furniture from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
