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:
True, in the nearly two decades that she’s been creating plush figures, she’s produced charmingly minimalistic foxes, cats and buffalo fit for a nursery.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Authorities in Zambia have warned people not to eat meat from wildlife after dozens of wild animals, including hippos, elephants, buffalo and a crocodile died following an anthrax outbreak.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
This super fragrant, flavorful dish features slow-cooked, fall-apart-tender buffalo in a curry with notes of clove and nutmeg.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
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
The scars from his school stay, the tattoo of a feather below his collarbone, the outline of the buffalo on the back of his hand.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
After a tough start, last week's win over the Buffalo Bills was a huge confidence boost for the New England Patriots, as they showed with a 45-17 hammering of the Las Vegas Raiders.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Gary Klein breaks down what to watch for when the Rams face the Buffalo Bills at SoFi Stadium on Monday night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
But New England showed something last week in knocking off Buffalo, and it makes a big difference when Drake Maye doesn’t turn it over.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
A premature New England panic cools with a Patriots victory in Buffalo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Buffalo Bill’s Wild West may indeed have been an “incongruity,” as the directors had declared in rejecting his request for a concession within Jackson Park, but the citizens of Chicago had fallen in love.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Around noon, dozens of buffaloes stood in a pond.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
Faced with poaching and the gradual destruction of their natural habitats, big mammals have largely disappeared, according to the survey which underlined the need to protect chimpanzees, buffaloes and elephants.
From Barron's ● Oct. 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
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
He says the amount stolen was $580,000 - and that he got it for selling buffalos.
From BBC ● Dec. 2, 2022
In the famed Chibayish marshes, the carcasses of water buffalos float along the riverbanks, poisoned by the salty water.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2022
In the fields, gray buffalos and brown cows graze lazily on the grass.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
"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
“You probably could have buffaloed people 10 years ago,” said Sassa.
From Time ● Feb. 18, 2015
Others complain that he has run the school with a somewhat autocratic hand and feel that they have been buffaloed into casting votes and rallying behind causes that they haven’t necessarily supported.
From New York Times ● Oct. 13, 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.
