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
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.
Cruise ship passengers were pictured wearing blue gowns, bouffant caps, and medical face masks as they disembarked on Sunday at the port of Grandilla de Abona in Tenerife.
From BBC • May 11, 2026
Roan’s fiery hair is piled in a foot-high bouffant above a rhinestone tiara, her face layered in kabuki-like powder.
From Salon • Feb. 19, 2026
Jay, with his bouffant curly hair and preternatural ability to remember the smallest details, became a de facto musical matchmaker.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 1, 2025
Ryan Nelson renders upswept hair with precisely inked lines in his depiction of a woman that focuses on her bouffant.
From Washington Post • Dec. 2, 2022
Joe stared at the cover, the big bouffant, the chandelier earrings, the pointy nails.
From "The First Rule of Punk" by Celia C. Pérez
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.
