buffer

¹ American  

[buhf-er] / ˈbʌf ər /

noun

1. an apparatus at the end of a railroad car, railroad track, etc., for absorbing shock during coupling, collisions, etc.

2. any device, material, or apparatus used as a shield, cushion, or bumper, especially on machinery.

3. any intermediate or intervening shield or device reducing the danger of interaction between two machines, chemicals, electronic components, etc.

4. a person or thing that shields and protects against annoyance, harm, hostile forces, etc., or that lessens the impact of a shock or reversal.

5. any reserve moneys, negotiable securities, legal procedures, etc., that protect a person, organization, or country against financial ruin.

6. buffer state.

7. Ecology. an animal population that becomes the prey of a predator that usually feeds on a different species.

8. Computers. a storage device for temporarily holding data until the computer is ready to receive or process the data, as when a receiving unit has an operating speed lower than that of the unit feeding data to it.

9. Electronics. a circuit with a single output activated by one or more of several inputs.

10. Chemistry.

    1. any substance or mixture of compounds that, added to a solution, is capable of neutralizing both acids and bases without appreciably changing the original acidity or alkalinity of the solution.

    2. Also called buffer solution.  a solution containing such a substance.

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verb (used with object)

buffers, present (3rd person singular) buffered, past participle, past buffering present participle

1. Chemistry. to treat with a buffer.

2. to cushion, shield, or protect.

3. to lessen the adverse effect of; ease.

   The drug buffered his pain.

4. Digital Technology. to temporarily save (data) before actively accessing it so that it can be loaded at a rapid or uniform rate: You’ll get a load screen while the game buffers those high-resolution graphics.

   Give the app time to buffer the audio when you are streaming music.

   You’ll get a load screen while the game buffers those high-resolution graphics.

buffer ² American  

[buhf-er] / ˈbʌf ər /

noun

1. a device for polishing or buffing, as a buff stick or buff wheel.

2. a worker who uses such a device.

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buffer ³ American  

[buhf-er] / ˈbʌf ər /

noun

British Slang.

1. a foolish or incompetent person.

2. a fellow; man.

3. a chief boatswain's mate in the British navy.

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buffer ¹ British  

/ ˈbʌfə /

noun

1. informal a stupid or bumbling man (esp in the phrase old buffer )

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buffer ² British  

/ ˈbʌfə /

noun

1. one of a pair of spring-loaded steel pads attached at both ends of railway vehicles and at the end of a railway track to reduce shock due to contact

2. a person or thing that lessens shock or protects from damaging impact, circumstances, etc

3. chem

   1. an ionic compound, usually a salt of a weak acid or base, added to a solution to resist changes in its acidity or alkalinity and thus stabilize its pH

   2. Also called: buffer solution.  a solution containing such a compound

4. computing a memory device for temporarily storing data

5. electronics an isolating circuit used to minimize the reaction between a driving and a driven circuit

6. short for buffer state

7. informal to finish or be stopped, esp unexpectedly

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verb

1. to insulate against or protect from shock; cushion

2. chem to add a buffer to (a solution)

buffer ³ British  

/ ˈbʌfə /

noun

1. any device used to shine, polish, etc; buff

2. a person who uses such a device

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buffer Scientific  

/ bŭf′ər /

1. Chemistry A substance that prevents change in the acidity of a solution when an acid or base is added to the solution or when the solution is diluted. Buffers are used to make solutions of known pH, especially for instrument calibration purposes. Natural buffers also exist in living organisms, where biochemical reactions are very sensitive to changes in pH.

2. Computer Science A device or an area of a computer that temporarily stores data that is being transferred between two machines that process data at different rates, such as a computer and a printer.

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buffer Cultural  

1. In chemistry, the components of a solution that can neutralize either an acid or a base and thus maintain a constant pH.

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Discover More

Buffers are often used in medications designed to decrease acidity in the stomach.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unbuffered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• buffering
  present
• buffered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• buffer
  simple
• buffers
  simple
• have buffered
  perfect
• has buffered
  perfect
• am buffering
  progressive
• are buffering
  progressive
• is buffering
  progressive
• have been buffering
  perfect progressive
• has been buffering
  perfect progressive

Past

• buffered
  simple
• had buffered
  perfect
• was buffering
  progressive
• were buffering
  progressive
• had been buffering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will buffer
  simple
• will have buffered
  perfect
• will be buffering
  progressive
• will have been buffering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of buffer¹

First recorded in 1825–35; buff ² + -er ¹

Origin of buffer²

First recorded in 1850–55; buff ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of buffer³

First recorded in 1745–50; origin uncertain

Explanation

A buffer is an object that either softens a blow like a fender, or helps buff or shine stuff, like a nail buffer. Buffer comes from the Old French buff, a word that imitates the sound of a blow to a soft body. A person can also be a buffer if she keeps people prone to fighting from coming in contact or hurting each other, like a teacher who separates two rowdy kids at the lunch table. A buffer state is a country between two conflicting ones that helps them better get along by creating a buffer between them — like Mongolia is for China and Russia.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

buffer buffers buffered buffering

Behind the buffer zones now established in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria, however, is an at least tacit set of ideas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

"Our seas are not an empty void or a buffer zone between global powers -- they are our estate, our livelihood, and our identity as stewards of the sea."

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026

Fortuitously, the small kiosk where Gil was encased acted as a kind of buffer, offering some measure of protection from the accumulation of debris looming above.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

Retail investors’ increasingly active approach to trading the markets could create more of a buffer for equity prices, Rubner said, given their tendency to swoop in and buy on weakness.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026

And an old buffer was pleased to describe us as “young heroes.”

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

Expanding revenue from the power sector and the less-cyclical defense industry should create some buffers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Who are we if not how we act at a dinner party with three other people, where the lack of buffers presents the opportunity for total, intimate sincerity?

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

The shorter and more predictable crossing times would reduce the need for trucking companies to build buffers into their schedules, the studies said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

Reserve buffers for oil have been “more resilient, tanker traffic has found ‘goat paths’ along the Omani coastline, and post-COVID demand behavior has changed more than the market initially understood,” he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 11, 2026

But disdained to pursue controversy further, and Prince Arthur, carefully avoiding further reference to buffers, went his way.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 98, 1890.05.10 by Various

Astoria launched a hedged growth fund for separately managed accounts in late 2020 that offers strategies similar to buffered ETFs.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

Champagne added that some investors are looking to replace traditional 60% stocks and 40% fixed income portfolios with ones that have 60% equities, 20% bonds and 20% in buffered ETFs.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

So far prices have been modulated in financial markets by expectations of an imminent settlement and buffered in the physical market by the drawing down of inventories.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 2026

For monthly series of Innovator buffered ETFs, the upside limit is changed upon annual reset, according to market conditions.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 28, 2026

Inside it, she was an observer, buffered from the scrutinizing eyes of strangers.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

It resonates more with the progress bar instead of the buffering icon.

From Slate ● Apr. 4, 2026

Without my boyfriend’s paycheck buffering our vibes-based accounting, it was time to face the scariest part of managing your money: the spending audit.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 31, 2026

And, again, no buffering or lagging, even on 4K content.

From Salon ● Mar. 27, 2026

The massive audience tested the technical capacity of the streaming platform, as many fans complained of buffering or losing the video feed completely.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026

It’s a protective mechanism for them, a way of buffering themselves against my future death, like when teenagers distance themselves from their parents in preparation for leaving home.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Related Words

• bulwark
• cushion
• intermediary