duff
1 Americannoun
noun
verb (used with object)
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duffs,
present (3rd person singular)
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duffed,
past participle, past
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duffing
present participle
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to give a deliberately deceptive appearance to; misrepresent; fake.
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British. (in golf ) to misplay (a golf ball), especially to misjudge one's swing so that the club strikes the ground behind the ball before hitting it.
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Australian.
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to steal (cattle).
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(formerly) to alter the brand on (stolen cattle).
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to cheat someone.
noun
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organic matter in various stages of decomposition on the floor of the forest.
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fine, dry coal, especially anthracite.
verb
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slang to change the appearance of or give a false appearance to (old or stolen goods); fake
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slang to steal (cattle), altering the brand
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Also: sclaff. informal golf to bungle (a shot) by hitting the ground behind the ball
adjective
noun
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a thick flour pudding, often flavoured with currants, citron, etc, and boiled in a cloth bag
plum duff
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slang pregnant
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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duffsimple
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duffssimple
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have duffedperfect
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has duffedperfect
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am duffingprogressive
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are duffingprogressive
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is duffingprogressive
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have been duffingperfect progressive
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has been duffingperfect progressive
Past
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duffedsimple
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had duffedperfect
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was duffingprogressive
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were duffingprogressive
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had been duffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of duff1
First recorded in 1885–90; expressive word, perhaps akin to doup
Origin of duff2
First recorded in 1830–40; dialectal variant ( Scots, North England) of dough
Origin of duff3
First recorded in 1830–40; back formation from duffer, in the slang senses “something inferior or counterfeit” or “a peddler of inferior goods”
Origin of duff4
First recorded in 1835–45; originally Scots dialect; perhaps metaphorical use of duff 2, by association with Scots dowf “decayed, rotten,” deaf “(of soil) unproductive, springy to the tread”; see dowf
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
However, he did not touch the ball once in the first half and gave away a penalty with a duff kick when afforded space for the first time in the second.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2023
Now, young stages of butterflies, moths and other beneficial insects are nestled in last year’s leaves, some of them munching on decomposing duff — leaves, twigs, bark and other plant litter.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2023
The duff — needles, branches and other plant detritus — is 2 to 3 feet deep in some parts of the Angeles National Forest, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2022
Another challenge in many fire-ravaged landscapes in Alaska is the duff, a layer of slowly decomposing moss, lichen and tree needles on forest floors that is generally about a foot deep.
From New York Times ● Aug. 20, 2022
So Grandma was smart—she was trying to get Ernie off his duff.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
M. M. Keeravani, the song’s composer, used duffs, an Indian skin drum, for the main beats, adding in mandolins for the melody.
From New York Times ● Mar. 12, 2023
But, perhaps most importantly, she’s here to remind others to get off their duffs and out into the world, no matter their ages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2021
Berger duffs one out of the sand, and Koepka can’t scramble the par from the fringe.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 25, 2021
But nobody will ever discover those capabilities if Siri duffs the basics on an equally regular basis.
From The Verge ● Sep. 14, 2020
“We aren’t just going to sit around on our fat duffs and do nothing, are we?”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
"I'd boo me too," laughed The Open champion before he hurried and subsequently duffed the return.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2025
But he duffed the first pitch shot and made bogey.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 17, 2022
Having hooked into trees on 8, he bladed a chip, then duffed one coming back, before nailing an absurd par saver.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 13, 2020
Baseball players are better prepared to deal with objects flying in their general direction, though we’d probably see far more errant pitches and duffed fly balls in a slingshot-addled pastime.
From Slate ● May 29, 2018
Its position rather affected my follow-through, so that I duffed my stroke and lost the hole.
From The Complete Golfer by Harry Vardon
BROADCASTER: He went into his previous Masters duffing chips all over the place, yet he was fine when he got there, so you can never tell with him.
From Golf Digest ● Mar. 13, 2018
He can’t make it nine consecutive points on his serve, duffing another lob into the net, but he holds to 15 with a booming ace down the middle.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 29, 2016
When they got down to hitting a golf ball, Fowler was the first to cock it up, duffing his greenside chip to gift the best player in the world first blood after just five minutes.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 28, 2014
England's agony has gone on, day after day, like that same golfer being forced to play round after failing round, an Open every week, duffing drives and missing putts, swing in pieces, galleries guffawing.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2013
Such a sound at such a time is ominous to duffing bullock drivers; so, as I sprang to my feet, you may be sure my companions were not much behind me.
From Such Is Life by Joseph Furphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
