buff

¹ American  

[buhf] / bʌf /

noun

1. a soft, thick, light-yellow leather with a napped surface, originally made from buffalo skin but later also from other skins, used for making belts, pouches, etc.

2. a brownish-yellow color; tan.

3. a buff stick or buff wheel.

4. a devotee or well-informed student of some activity or subject.

   Civil War buffs avidly read the new biography of Grant.

5. Informal. the bare skin, or the state of being nude.

   swimming in the buff;

   stripped to his buff.

6. Also called buffcoat.  a thick, short coat of buffalo leather, worn especially by English soldiers and American colonists in the 17th century.

7. Informal. a buffalo.

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adjective

1. having the color of buff.

2. made of buff leather.

3. Slang. physically attractive; muscular.

   Synonyms:

   burnish

verb (used with object)

1. to clean or polish (metal) or give a grainless finish of high luster to (plated surfaces) with or as if with a buff stick or buff wheel.

2. to polish or shine, especially with a buffer.

   to buff shoes.

3. to dye or stain in a buff color.

buff ² American  

[buhf] / bʌf /

verb (used with object)

1. (in a video game) to enhance (player characters' attributes or abilities) with a spell, skill, or item.

   If you buff your party with a skill that increases movement speed, make sure everyone is in the area of effect—you wouldn’t want to leave your healer in the dust!

2. to reduce or deaden the force of; act as a buffer.

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noun

1. (in a video game) a category of spell, skill, or item that enhances player characters' attributes or abilities.

   Your build is specific to your job class, so a DPS Shaman and a DPS Druid might bring different buffs.

2. Chiefly British Dialect. a blow; slap.

buff ¹ British  

/ bʌf /

noun

1. 1. a soft thick flexible undyed leather made chiefly from the skins of buffalo, oxen, and elk

   2. ( as modifier )

      a buff coat

2. 1. a dull yellow or yellowish-brown colour

   2. ( as adjective )

      buff paint

3. Also called: buffer. 

   1. a cloth or pad of material used for polishing an object

   2. a flexible disc or wheel impregnated with a fine abrasive for polishing metals, etc, with a power tool

4. informal one's bare skin (esp in the phrase in the buff )

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verb

1. to clean or polish (a metal, floor, shoes, etc) with a buff

2. to remove the grain surface of (a leather)

buff ² British  

/ bʌf /

verb

1. (tr) to deaden the force of

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noun

1. archaic a blow or buffet (now only in the phrase blind man's buff )

buff ³ British  

/ bʌf /

noun

1. informal an expert on or devotee of a given subject

   a cheese buff

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buff Idioms  

1. see in the buff.

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Usage

What else does buff mean? Buff originally refers to light-yellow leather made from buffalo skins. It has taken on many slang terms, though, including:

• being naked
• shining up something
• being muscular and fit
• being particularly knowledgeable about something
• and, in gaming lingo, strengthening a player's stats.

Other Word Forms

• buffability
  noun
• buffable
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of buff¹

First recorded in 1545–55; 1900–05 buff ¹ for def. 4; earlier buffe “wild ox,” back formation from buffle, from Middle French, from Late Latin būfalus; see buffalo; buff ¹ ( def. 4 ) originally a person enthusiastic about firefighting and firefighters, allegedly after the buff-colored uniforms once worn by volunteer firefighters in New York City

Origin of buff²

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English buffe “blow; clash.” back formation from buffet ²

Explanation

Buff is a busy word. If you’re a movie buff, you’re a film fan! If you are buff, your muscles are toned. If your sweater is buff, it's a caramel brown color. And to buff is to polish. Whew! You may decide to paint your living room buff or write a long letter on buff-colored stationery. There is also a soft-surfaced, yellowish kind of leather that's called buff, which is where the word came from — it was called buffe leather, or "leather made of buffalo hide," in the 16th century, and the practice of polishing leather gives buff its meaning as a verb: to polish. You might also have heard the phrase "in the buff," which means "not wearing any clothes."

Example Sentences

That means workers in roles that typically require a lot of hard skills will need to buff up on soft skills.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026

He is bearded and buff; she is a porcelain doll with Wednesday Addams hair and skin.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 18, 2026

Andrew - who had always been a big history buff - also began compulsively buying antique pens, pottery and cricket memorabilia.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026

Yet she’s also a protein-loading weight-lifting buff who favors all-black outfits and clear opinions, not a robed oracle speaking in riddles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026

While they file and buff and paint, I hear their stories, which are nearly all about husbands and children and other family members.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Related Words

• admirer
• aficionado
• devotee
• expert
• fan
• fiend
• freak
• lover