bouffant
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
-
(of a hair style) having extra height and width through back-combing; puffed out
-
(of sleeves, skirts, etc) puffed out
noun
Other Word Forms
- bouffancy noun
- semibouffant adjective
Etymology
Origin of bouffant
First recorded in 1875–80; from French: literally, “swelling” ( bouff(er) “to swell” + -ant adjective suffix; see -ant)
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.
James Whale’s 1935 freakquel, “Bride of Frankenstein,” imagined the companion briefly alive, sporting a white-streaked, electric-shocked bouffant before being killed by the Monster moments after her genesis.
From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026
As a teenager, Berman, who wore her dark hair in a bouffant, worked part time in a department store along Broadway.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2023
His bushy moustache and black bouffant hair with a trademark white streak at the front made him one of the most recognisable - and impersonated - stars of the era on ITV.
From BBC • Feb. 19, 2023
“Even as the ball rolled into the hole, she would shake her lacquered bouffant in disgust and mutter in her Southwest twang that she didn’t deserve a good score.”
From Washington Post • Dec. 27, 2022
“Marcia, are you going to bottle your secret?” a woman whom Ifemelu did not know asked, her bleached hair bouffant like a platinum helmet.
From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
