buffalo
noun
any of several large wild oxen of the family Bovidae.
buffalo
1 American
[buhf-uh-loh]
/ ˈbʌf əˌloʊ /
noun
-
buffaloes,
plural
-
buffalos,
plural
-
buffalo
plural
-
any of several large wild oxen of the family Bovidae.
-
a buffalofish.
-
a shuffling tap-dance step.
verb (used with object)
Informal.
-
buffalos,
present (3rd person singular)
-
buffaloed,
past participle, past
-
buffaloing
present participle
-
to puzzle or baffle; confuse; mystify.
He was buffaloed by the problem.
-
to impress or intimidate by a display of power, importance, etc..
The older boys buffaloed him.
Buffalo
2
American
[buhf-uh-loh]
/ ˈbʌf əˌloʊ /
noun
buffalo
1
British
/ ˈbʌfəˌləʊ /
noun
-
Also called: Cape buffalo. a member of the cattle tribe, Syncerus caffer , mostly found in game reserves in southern and eastern Africa and having upward-curving horns
-
short for water buffalo
-
Also called: bison. a member of the cattle tribe, Bison bison , formerly widely distributed over the prairies of W North America but now confined to reserves and parks, with a massive head, shaggy forequarters, and a humped back
verb
-
(often passive) to confuse
-
to intimidate
Buffalo
2
British
/ ˈbʌfəˌləʊ /
noun
Buffalo
Cultural
Discover More
Niagara Falls is northwest of Buffalo.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
buffalosimple
-
buffalossimple
-
have buffaloedperfect
-
has buffaloedperfect
-
am buffaloingprogressive
-
are buffaloingprogressive
-
is buffaloingprogressive
-
have been buffaloingperfect progressive
-
has been buffaloingperfect progressive
Past
-
buffaloedsimple
-
had buffaloedperfect
-
was buffaloingprogressive
-
were buffaloingprogressive
-
had been buffaloingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of buffalo
1535–45, earlier bufalo < Portuguese (now bufaro ) < Late Latin būfalus, variant of Latin būbalus bubal
Explanation
A buffalo is a large, ox-like animal with horns and shaggy fur. In North America, a buffalo is another name for a bison. There are various types of buffalo around the world, including South Asia's water buffalo and the African buffalo, but the bison is the most well-known type of buffalo in the U.S. You can also use the word as a verb, meaning "to intimidate," and when it's capitalized, Buffalo is a city in New York state. These various meanings have resulted in the longest sentence in English that uses only one word: "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" meaning — Buffalonian (1) buffalos (2) that other Buffalonian (3) buffalos (4) scare (5) also scare (6) other Buffalonian (7) buffalos (8).
Vocabulary lists containing buffalo
In a Pickle: Words for When You're in Trouble
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
A Vocabulary Bestiary: Animals That Behave as Verbs
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Amazing Animals, List 1
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
Erewhon stores have become tourist destinations, with people posting videos on social media of themselves visiting and trying foods such as raw vegan cinnamon rolls and buffalo cauliflower.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
Sometimes his friends would even dare him to tell a joke about buffalo wings, the kind of dares that can only be conceived by years of friendship.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Their buffalo wings are some of the best you’ll ever have.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
They recommend making a simple chicken salad, which can be enjoyed on its own or in a sandwich, along with fajitas, pot pie, buffalo chicken dip, empanadas and chicken noodle soup.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
The buffalo robes and all the blankets had been brought in from Uncle Peter’s sled, so there were enough covers for everybody.
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Wingstop offers 13 different dipping sauces, and Buffalo Wild Wings boasts 23 different flavorings.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Brown family members have used their fortunes to buy horse farms, collect art and amass a weapons collection—including Buffalo Bill’s rifle—now displayed at a local museum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
But the idea that future generations will inherit my studded Prada Buffalo Easy bag to remember me by makes me laugh.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Co-corresponding author Omer Gokcumen, a University at Buffalo professor of biological sciences, has previously shown that the first duplication of AMY1 occurred in humans at least 800,000 years ago.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Pawnee Bill, the legendary Wild West showman and the onetime partner of Buffalo Bill, described Hale as a “high-class gentleman.”
From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
Ramaphosa said the cash came from the sale of buffaloes.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Judy, the first rabbit to join the city's police force, has proven to her macho colleagues — buffaloes, hippos, and warthogs — that she deserves her place in the investigative department.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
More than 80 buffaloes have been killed after they trampled over each other and drowned in a river, Namibia's environment and tourism department has said.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2025
It has some of the fewer than 100 remaining critically endangered mountain bongos in the world, alongside rhinos, elephants, buffaloes, lions, leopards and others.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
Jody lay in his bed and thought of the impossible world of Indians and buffaloes, a world that had ceased to be forever.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
This includes the taurine cattle found primarily in Europe and temperate areas of Asia; indicine cattle, or zebus, found primarily in India and tropical areas of Asia; and water buffalos in East and Southeast Asia.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 13, 2023
For now, the county has told people to use bottled water for all their needs or to fill jugs at tankers called water buffalos, which have been brought in near the burns.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 19, 2023
The family is from Ibrash, in the agricultural Nile Delta province of Sharqia, where water buffalos, cows and donkeys share dirt roads with cars, motorbikes and three-wheeled rickshaws known as tuk-tuks.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 19, 2023
The report envisions "an authentic wild sense of place" with "larger contiguous areas containing vibrant self-sustaining populations" of elephants, buffalos, lions, leopards, rhinos, and other species.
From Salon ● Dec. 25, 2021
I kept on walking, passing paddocks filled with horses, cows, and shaggy-furred cattle that I realized must be buffalos.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
"Don’t be buffaloed by experts and elites," he said.
From Fox News ● Oct. 19, 2021
The senior-laden Bulls have won 12 consecutive games and won’t be able to sneak up on anyone after they buffaloed Arizona in the first round last season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2019
They get good stories, because the newspapers get buffaloed.
From Time ● Jun. 16, 2015
He knows people around the world, and as we say in Wyoming, he won’t be buffaloed.
From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2012
Despite this, Dasch confidently assured them that he had "buffaloed" the man.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
When it comes to buffaloing the opposite side, that's my long suit.
From The Outlet by Andy Adams
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.
