"cushions" in the noun sense
1. shock absorber, shock, cushion
a mechanical damper absorbs energy of sudden impulses
"the old car needed a new set of shocks"
2. cushion
the layer of air that supports a hovercraft or similar vehicle
3. cushion
a soft bag filled with air or a mass of padding such as feathers or foam rubber etc.
"cushions" in the verb sense
1. cushion, buffer, soften
protect from impact
"cushion the blow"
Source: WordNet® (An amazing lexical database of English)
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