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"cushion" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often pad (3 letters).
Definitions
protect from impact
Word origin
From Middle English quysshyn, from later Old French coissin (modern coussin), from Vulgar Latin *coxīnus (“seat pad”), derived from Latin coxa (“hip, thigh”) (with the suffix possibly after Latin pulvīnus (“pillow”)), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *koḱs- (“joint, limb”).
Used in a sentence
“It will most likely not alter the destination of the league title, which still seems bound for City, who retain an 11-point cushion at the top”
“Interest coverage is important because it is an indicator of how much cushion a company has in making its interest payments.”
“If one of the banks has a significant enough cushion of capital and a strong enough balance sheet, then it would not experience a bank run, and the domino effect in panel A would not have occurred.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer4 curated clues
01“Padded support”7 letters
02“Sofa pad”7 letters
03“Soft seat pad”7 letters
04“Soft pad”7 letters
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