noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈfuːtɒn/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˈfutɑn/
rhymes with -uːtɒn
CMU ARPABET:F UW1 T AA0 N
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A thin mattress of tufted cotton or similar material, placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame as a bed.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A round cushion used for Zen meditation, traditionally made of woven bulrush leaves.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A specific kind of sofa-bed, with a fixed cushion that forms a mattress when folded down and a sofa when folded up.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
Abbreviation of full text on the Net: the presence of the complete text of an academic paper on the Internet, seen as a potential biasing factor in which papers get cited most often.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
noun
Meaning 5
mattress consisting of a pad of cotton batting that is used for sleeping on the floor or on a raised frame
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mattress
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 布団 (futon), in turn from Middle Chinese 蒲團 (MC bu dwan, “meditation cushion”) (compare Mandarin 蒲团 (pútuán)), from 蒲 (bu, “bulrush, cattail”) + 團 (dwan, “sphere, round object”) from the way the original cushion was round and made from woven bulrushes.
Across languages
Translations
35 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
فُوتُون
(futūn)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Arabic:
فُوتُون يَابَانِيّ
(fūtūn yābāniyy)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Bulgarian:
футон
(futon)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Chinese Mandarin:
床墊 /床垫
(chuángdiàn)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Chinese Mandarin:
布團 /布团
(bùtuán)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Esperanto:
futono
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Finnish:
futon
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
French:
futon
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
German:
Futon
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Italian:
materasso giapponese
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Italian:
futon
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Japanese:
布団
(futon)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Japanese:
ふとん
(futon)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Japanese:
蒲団
(futon)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Korean:
후톤
(huton)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Marathi:
फुतोन
(phuton)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Portuguese:
futon
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Russian:
футо́н
(futón)
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Spanish:
futón
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Welsh:
ffŵton
— thin mattress placed on a floor or on a raised, foldable frame
Arabic:
فُوتُون
(futūn)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Arabic:
فُوتُون يَابَانِيّ
(fūtūn yābāniyy)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Bulgarian:
футон
(futon)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Chinese Mandarin:
布團 /布团
(bùtuán)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Chinese Mandarin:
坐垫
(zuòdiàn)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Chinese Mandarin:
蒲團 /蒲团
(pútuán)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Dutch:
futon
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Finnish:
futon
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
German:
Futon
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Italian:
futon
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Japanese:
布団
(futon)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Japanese:
ふとん
(futon)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Japanese:
蒲団
(futon)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Korean:
후톤
(huton)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
Russian:
футо́н
(futón)
— a Japanese cushion for meditation
