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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

buff.

Undyed leather from the skin of buffalo or similar animals.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/bʌf/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɐf/Australia, New-Zealand/bʊf/Northern-England
  1. Undyed leather from the skin of buffalo or similar animals.

    countable · uncountable
  2. A tool, often one covered with buff leather, used for polishing.

    countable · uncountable
  3. A brownish yellow colour.

    countable · uncountable
  4. A military coat made of buff leather.

    countable · uncountable
  5. A person who is very interested in a particular subject.

    countable · informal · uncountable
    He’s a real history buff. He knows everything there is to know about the civil war.
  6. A change introduced in a patch that makes a character, item, or attack stronger.

    countable · uncountable
  7. An effect that makes a character or item stronger.

    countable · uncountable
    I just picked up an epic damage buff! Let's go gank the other team!
  8. Compressive coupler force that occurs during a slack bunched condition.

    countable · uncountable
  9. The bare skin.

    colloquial · countable · uncountable
    to strip to the buff
  10. The greyish viscid substance constituting the buffy coat.

    countable · uncountable
  11. Any substance used to dilute (street) drugs in order to increase profits.

    countable · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Ancient Greek [Term?]? Ancient Greek βούβαλος (boúbalos)bor. Latin būbalusder. Late Latin bufalusder. Italian bufaloder. Old French bufle Middle French buffleder. English buffe English buff From buffe (“leather”), from Middle French buffle (“buffalo”).

adj/bʌf/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɐf/Australia, New-Zealand/bʊf/Northern-England
  1. Of the color of buff leather, a brownish yellow.

  2. Unusually muscular.

    colloquial
    The bouncer was a big, buff dude with tattoos, a shaved head, and a serious scowl.
  3. Physically attractive.

    Multicultural-London-English · slang
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Ancient Greek [Term?]? Ancient Greek βούβαλος (boúbalos)bor. Latin būbalusder. Late Latin bufalusder. Italian bufaloder. Old French bufle Middle French buffleder. English buffe English buff From buffe (“leather”), from Middle French buffle (“buffalo”).

verb/bʌf/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɐf/Australia, New-Zealand/bʊf/Northern-England
  1. To polish and make shiny by rubbing.

    He was already buffing the car's hubs.
  2. To make a character or an item stronger.

    The enchanter buffed the paladin to prepare him to fight the dragon.
    I noticed that the pistols were buffed in the update.
  3. To modify a medical chart, especially in a dishonest manner.

  4. To remove (graffiti), particularly when done by someone who is not a graffiti writer.

    slang
  5. To strip to the bare skin.

    archaic · slang · transitive
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Ancient Greek [Term?]? Ancient Greek βούβαλος (boúbalos)bor. Latin būbalusder. Late Latin bufalusder. Italian bufaloder. Old French bufle Middle French buffleder. English buffe English buff From buffe (“leather”), from Middle French buffle (“buffalo”).

verb/bʌf/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɐf/Australia, New-Zealand/bʊf/Northern-England
  1. To strike.

Where this word comes from

From Old French bufer (“to cuff, buffet”). See buffet (“a blow”).

noun/bʌf/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɐf/Australia, New-Zealand/bʊf/Northern-England
  1. A strike; a blow.

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Old French bufer (“to cuff, buffet”). See buffet (“a blow”).

verb/bʌf/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɐf/Australia, New-Zealand/bʊf/Northern-England
  1. To stammer, stutter

    dialectal · obsolete
Where this word comes from

From Middle English buffen (“to stutter, stammer”), from Old English byffan (“to mumble, mutter”), from Proto-West Germanic *bubjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeyH- (“to fear, to be afraid”). More at bive (“tremble, shake”) and bever.

noun/bʌf/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɐf/Australia, New-Zealand/bʊf/Northern-England
  1. A buffalo, or the meat of a buffalo.

    countable · informal · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Clipping of buffalo.

noun/bʌf/General-American, Received-Pronunciation/bɐf/Australia, New-Zealand/bʊf/Northern-England
  1. Alternative form of buffe (“face armor”).

    alt-of · alternative · uncommon
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Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.