n. 1 the movable equipment of a house, room, etc., e.g. tables, chairs, and beds. 2 Naut. a ship's equipment, esp. tackle etc. 3 accessories, e.g. the handles and lock of a door. 4 Printing pieces of wood or metal placed round or between type to make blank spaces and fasten the matter in the chase. furniture beetle a beetle, Anobium punctatum, the larvae of which bore into wood (see WOODWORM). furniture van a large van used to move furniture from one house to another. part of the furniture colloq. a person or thing taken for granted.
[ F fourniture f. fournir (as FURNISH) ]