fuzz

¹ American  

[fuhz] / fʌz /

noun

1. loose, light, fibrous, or fluffy matter.

2. a mass or coating of such matter.

   the fuzz on a peach.

3. Slang. a man's very short haircut, similar to a crew cut.

4. a blur.

   That photo is all fuzz.

5. a distorted sound from an electric musical instrument, especially a guitar, produced by means of an electronic device.

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verb (used with or without object)

fuzzes, present (3rd person singular) fuzzed, past participle, past fuzzing present participle

1. to make or become blurred or unclear (sometimes followed by up orout ).

   He fuzzed up the plot line with a lot of emotional nonsense. The image fuzzed and then disappeared.

fuzz ² American  

[fuhz] / fʌz /

noun

Older Slang.

fuzzes plural

1. Usually the fuzz the police; police officers collectively.

   The fuzz were called by a neighbor and three policeman showed up.

2. a police officer or detective.

   Fuzzes caught the burglar trying to escape through the back alley.

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fuzz ¹ British  

/ fʌz /

noun

1. a mass or covering of fine or curly hairs, fibres, etc

2. a blur

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verb

1. to make or become fuzzy

2. to make or become indistinct; blur

fuzz ² British  

/ fʌz /

noun

1. a slang word for police policeman

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• fuzz
  plural
• fuzzes
  plural

Conjugated Forms

Present

• has fuzzed
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have fuzzed
  perfect
• has been fuzzing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are fuzzing
  progressive
• have been fuzzing
  perfect progressive
• is fuzzing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• am fuzzing
  progressive 1st person singular
• fuzzes
  singular 3rd person
• fuzzing
  participle

Past

• had fuzzed
  perfect
• was fuzzing
  progressive singular
• were fuzzing
  progressive plural
• had been fuzzing
  perfect progressive
• fuzzed
  participle
• fuzzed
  simple

Future

• will fuzz
  simple
• will have fuzzed
  perfect
• will have been fuzzing
  perfect progressive
• will be fuzzing
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of fuzz¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; origin uncertain; perhaps a back formation from fuzzy ( def. ); compare Dutch voos “spongy, woolly”

Origin of fuzz²

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25; of uncertain origin

Explanation

Fuzz is a downy or hair patch of fibers. Most kids love to blow the fuzz off of a dandelion. The furry growth on your cactus plant is fuzz, and so is your sister's frizzy hair and your cousin's patchy attempt at sideburns. You can also call an unfocused, blurry image fuzz: "I was so tired that there was fuzz at the edges of my vision." Informally, some people refer to police officers as fuzz too, a usage that dates from 1920s US gangster slang.

Related Words

• lint