chaff
1the husks of grains and grasses that are separated during threshing.
straw cut up for fodder.
worthless matter; refuse.
the membranous, usually dry, brittle bracts of the flowers of certain plants.
Also called window. Military. strips of metal foil dropped by an aircraft to confuse enemy radar by creating false blips.
Origin of chaff
1Other words from chaff
- chaffless, adjective
- chafflike, adjective
Words Nearby chaff
Other definitions for chaff (2 of 2)
to mock, tease, or jest in a good-natured way; banter: She chaffed him for working late. They joked and chaffed with each other.
good-natured ridicule or teasing; raillery.
Origin of chaff
2Other words from chaff
- chaff·ing·ly, adverb
- un·chaffed, adjective
- un·chaff·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use chaff in a sentence
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.
The power of rational thinking in a world that seems unreasonable | Nick Romeo | October 8, 2021 | Washington PostAssam is Modi’s grand laboratory, where he is putting Muslims to the litmus test of a citizen verification drive—separating the trueborn from the chaff—before taking it national.
The wheat from the chaff will get separated very, very quickly here.
Peter Beck on Rocket Lab’s public listing debut, space SPACs and the Neutron rocket | Aria Alamalhodaei | August 25, 2021 | TechCrunchYou’re trying to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.
With 12 men exonerated, the force behind Maryland’s Innocence Project hangs it up | Tim Prudente | June 3, 2021 | Washington PostThere is good free content on YouTube—including on Perrigo’s or Albrecht’s feeds—but you have to sift through a lot of chaff.
For CinemaSins, the cookie cutter approach often takes much of the chaff, but leaves behind the wheat.
The Witty Genius of YouTube’s CinemaSins: Everything Wrong with Your Favorite Movie | Rich Goldstein | April 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTI say you're no good as an interview because no one is very good at sorting the wheat from the chaff.
Yankees tend to shrug off such numbers as largely the chaff drifting down.
As the North Rests on Its Laurels, the South Is Rising Fast | Joel Kotkin | June 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTYour miner friends notice the stiffness of your walk and chaff you about it.
For a graduate seminar at Georgetown, the chaff-to-wheat ratio is disturbingly high.
Even if poverty were gone, the flail could still beat hard enough upon the grain and chaff of humanity.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice | Stephen LeacockThough the amount played for is serious, a good deal of rather bald conversation and chaff goes on.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsDon't chaff, Shirtings; you're a very good fellow, you know, but I'm not in a laughing humour.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3) | Charles James WillsI'm told that the old men when they were together would chaff each other about their children.
A Butterfly on the Wheel | Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger GullThe soft easy chaff bed gave her more of rest and satisfaction than if it had been eiderdown.
The Underworld | James C. Welsh
British Dictionary definitions for chaff (1 of 2)
/ (tʃɑːf) /
the mass of husks, etc, separated from the seeds during threshing
finely cut straw and hay used to feed cattle
something of little worth; rubbish (esp in the phrase separate the wheat from the chaff)
the dry membranous bracts enclosing the flowers of certain composite plants
thin strips of metallic foil released into the earth's atmosphere to confuse radar signals and prevent detection
Origin of chaff
1Derived forms of chaff
- chaffy, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for chaff (2 of 2)
/ (tʃɑːf) /
light-hearted teasing or joking; banter
to tease good-naturedly; banter
Origin of chaff
2Derived forms of chaff
- chaffer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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