Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

upholster

/əˈpɒl.stə(ɹ)/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.32 in modern English

Syllables
up-hol-ster
IPA
/əˈpɒl.stə(ɹ)/
14
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To fit padding, stuffing, springs, webbing and fabric covering to (furniture).

Transitive verb

noun

An upholder, a dealer in secondhand furniture and clothes; an upholsterer; a tradesman who finishes furniture.

Archaic

Etymology

Back-formation from upholsterer (“tradesman who finishes furniture”), from Middle English upholdester, variant of Middle English upholder (“dealer in small goods”), from upholden (“to repair, uphold”); equivalent to uphold + -ster. Sense development as well as form may have been influenced by conflation with unrelated bolster.

Origin

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • British English: /əˈpɒl.stə(ɹ)/

Usage

Inflected Forms

upholsters (present, singular) upholstering (participle, present) upholstered (participle, past) upholstered (past) upholsters (plural) upholdster (alternative)

Derived Forms

reupholsterer reupholster reupholstery unupholstered upholsterable upholstered upholstering upholsterer upholstery

Phrases

re-upholster well-upholstered

Rhymes With

bolster holster pollster polster

Questions

How do you pronounce upholster?
The recorded pronunciation is /əˈpɒl.stə(ɹ)/.
What does upholster mean?
To fit padding, stuffing, springs, webbing and fabric covering to (furniture).
Where does upholster come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce upholster

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “upholster”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/əˈpɒl.stə(ɹ)/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “upholster”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “upholster” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.