chaff

¹ American  

[chaf, chahf] / tʃæf, tʃɑf /

noun

1. the husks of grains and grasses that are separated during threshing.

2. straw cut up for fodder.

3. worthless matter; refuse.

4. the membranous, usually dry, brittle bracts of the flowers of certain plants.

5. Also called window.  Military.  strips of metal foil dropped by an aircraft to confuse enemy radar by creating false blips.

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chaff ² American  

[chaf, chahf] / tʃæf, tʃɑf /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to mock, tease, or jest in a good-natured way; banter.

   She chaffed him for working late. They joked and chaffed with each other.

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noun

1. good-natured ridicule or teasing; raillery.

chaff ¹ British  

/ tʃɑːf /

noun

1. the mass of husks, etc, separated from the seeds during threshing

2. finely cut straw and hay used to feed cattle

3. something of little worth; rubbish (esp in the phrase separate the wheat from the chaff )

4. the dry membranous bracts enclosing the flowers of certain composite plants

5. thin strips of metallic foil released into the earth's atmosphere to confuse radar signals and prevent detection

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chaff ² British  

/ tʃɑːf /

noun

1. light-hearted teasing or joking; banter

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verb

1. to tease good-naturedly; banter

Other Word Forms

• chaffer noun
• chaffingly adverb
• chaffless adjective
• chafflike adjective
• chaffy adjective
• unchaffed adjective
• unchaffing adjective

Etymology

Origin of chaff¹

before 1000; Middle English chaf, Old English ceaf; cognate with Middle Low German, Dutch kaf

Origin of chaff²

First recorded in 1640–50; perhaps from chaff ¹

Example Sentences

That kept researchers busy trying to separate wheat from chaff, and ultimately they have zeroed in on that handful of cases that have so far stumped investigators.

From Washington Post

Growers have also asked the government to drop fines and other penalties for burning their fields after harvesting to remove stalk and chaff.

From Reuters

But to lose them in this way and for this reason is also to separate wheat from chaff.

From Seattle Times

You have to clean the seeds by screening out the chaff.

From Seattle Times

Conscious reasoning is helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff, but it would be interesting to consider the hidden aquifers that make much of the grain grow in the first place.

From Washington Post