faff

British

/ fæf /

verb

informal to dither or fuss

"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

Etymology

Origin of faff

C19: of obscure origin

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.

"Dead reyt", "faff" and "keep gu'in" are words you don’t often see in video games.

From BBC • Aug. 2, 2024

"I feel brilliant once I've done it and I love it and could chat all day about it but before it - we do faff a lot," she said.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2023

There’s not a lot of faff on it.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 20, 2021

Let’s not faff around, for the opening matches are going out soon.

From The Guardian • Sep. 24, 2021

My dad says real fires are more faff than they're worth, but Dean's dad says in a Tavish McTavish voice, “Neeever buy ye a hoose wi'oot a chimberly pot.”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023