bluff

¹ American  

[bluhf] / blʌf /

adjective

bluffer, bluffest

1. good-naturedly direct, blunt, or frank; heartily outspoken.

   a big, bluff, generous man.

   Synonyms:

   straightforward, plain-spoken, honest, open, forthright, direct, blunt

   Antonyms:

   roundabout, indirect, circuitous

2. presenting a bold and nearly perpendicular front, as a coastline.

   a bluff, precipitous headland.

   Synonyms:

   steep, abrupt

3. Nautical. (of the bow of a vessel) having a full, blunt form.

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noun

1. a cliff, headland, or hill with a broad, steep face.

2. North Dakota, Wisconsin, and the Canadian Prairie Provinces. a clump or grove of trees on a prairie or other generally treeless area.

bluff ² American  

[bluhf] / blʌf /

verb (used with object)

bluffs, present (3rd person singular) bluffed, past participle, past bluffing present participle

1. to mislead by a display of knowledge, self-confidence, or boldness.

   He bluffed me into believing that he was a doctor.

   Synonyms:

   trick, mislead, hoodwink, delude, dupe, fool, deceive

2. to gain by a misleading display of knowledge, self-confidence, or boldness.

   He bluffed his way into the job.

3. Poker, Bridge. to deceive (an opponent) by a show of confidence in the strength of one's cards.

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verb (used without object)

bluffs, present (3rd person singular) bluffed, past participle, past bluffing present participle

1. to mislead someone by presenting a bold, strong, or self-confident front.

   They threatened to sue, but they were only bluffing.

2. Poker, Bridge. to deceive an opponent by a show of confidence in the strength of one's cards.

noun

1. an act or instance or the practice of misleading by presenting a bold, strong, or self-confident front.

   Her story was all a bluff to get money from us.

   His assertive manner is mostly bluff.

2. a person who misleads by presenting knowledge, self-confidence, or boldness; bluffer.

   That big bluff doesn't have a nickel to his name.

idioms

1. call someone's bluff, to expose a person's deception, or challenge someone to carry out a threat.

   He always said he would quit, so we finally called his bluff.

2. bluff with rags, to display confidence in the strength of one's hand when that hand is weak, as a way to win by making an opponent withdraw from play.

bluff ¹ British  

/ blʌf /

noun

1. a steep promontory, bank, or cliff, esp one formed by river erosion on the outside bend of a meander

2. a clump of trees on the prairie; copse

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adjective

1. good-naturedly frank and hearty

2. (of a bank, cliff, etc) presenting a steep broad face

bluff ² British  

/ blʌf /

verb

1. to pretend to be confident about an uncertain issue or to have undisclosed resources, in order to influence or deter (someone)

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noun

1. deliberate deception intended to create the impression of a stronger position or greater resources than one actually has

2. to challenge someone to give proof of his claims

bluff More Idioms  

1. see call someone's bluff.

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Usage

What does bluff mean? Bluff describes someone or something that is blunt or frank in a good-natured way. Someone who talks in a bluff manner says things directly but not hurtfully. A bluff is a cliff or hill with a tall face on one side. Bluffs often border a river or ocean because they get their shape from erosion caused by the natural flow of water. To bluff is to mislead by showing strength or confidence. People bluff to make themselves seem more powerful, larger, or of more authority than those being bluffed. A bluff is an act of bluffing. Example: The cabin was built along the bluff, but erosion is making it sink down the hill.

Synonym Usage

See blunt.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• unbluffed
  adjective
• bluffable
  adjective
• unbluffable
  adjective
• bluffness
  noun
• bluffer
  noun
• bluffly
  adverb

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have bluffed
  perfect
• has bluffed
  perfect 3rd person singular
• is bluffing
  progressive 3rd person singular
• have been bluffing
  perfect progressive
• bluffing
  participle
• are bluffing
  progressive
• am bluffing
  progressive 1st person singular
• has been bluffing
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• bluffs
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had bluffed
  perfect
• were bluffing
  progressive plural
• had been bluffing
  perfect progressive
• was bluffing
  progressive singular
• bluffed
  participle
• bluffed
  simple

Future

• will bluff
  simple
• will have bluffed
  perfect
• will have been bluffing
  perfect progressive
• will be bluffing
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of bluff¹

First recorded in 1620–30; origin uncertain; perhaps from Middle Low German blaff “smooth, even,” or from Middle Dutch blaf “broad, flat,” i.e., of a face or forehead

Origin of bluff²

First recorded in 1665–75; origin uncertain; perhaps from Low German bluffen “to bluster, frighten”; akin to Middle Dutch bluffen “to make a trick at cards”

Explanation

Bluff can mean a high cliff, or it can describe a person who is abrupt in manner. The most common usage of bluff is as a verb meaning to pretend. If you bluff at cards, you are pretending to have a better hand than you do. Many a good crime story ends with a bluff—"I've already contacted the police and they're on their way," the detective will say when that is not at all the case. The expression "calling your bluff" comes from poker, where you "call" a game to see someone's actual cards. Calling someone's bluff means forcing them to admit the truth.

Example Sentences

Pine Bluff Superintendent Jennifer Barbaree declined to comment on Alvendia’s claims about Star Academy, which she said was paid for using Biden administration Covid-era aid for school districts.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 23, 2026

Orange Lutheran unveiled its big-time pitcher Cooper Sides, a transfer from Red Bluff High.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Appeared in the January 24, 2026, print edition as 'Syria’s Sharaa Calls Washington’s Bluff'.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026

On Monday, that anger reached Northern California, where Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., was jeered and heckled at two forums in Chico and Red Bluff, reportedly his first in-person town halls in nearly 8 years.

From Salon • Aug. 12, 2025

Here was something to make them proud, something to give them hope after the despairing stories of Bull Run and Ball’s Bluff and Wilson’s Creek.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt

Related Words

• cliff
• crag
• hill
• promontory
• ridge