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• buffalo
  buffalo

  noun

  any of several large wild oxen of the family Bovidae.
• Buffalo
  Buffalo

  noun

  a port in W New York, on Lake Erie.

buffalo

¹ American  

[buhf-uh-loh] / ˈbʌf əˌloʊ /

noun

buffaloes, plural buffalos plural

1. any of several large wild oxen of the family Bovidae.

2. buffalo robe.

3. a buffalofish.

4. a shuffling tap-dance step.

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verb (used with object)

Informal.

buffaloed, buffaloing

1. to puzzle or baffle; confuse; mystify.

   He was buffaloed by the problem.

2. 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

1. a port in W New York, on Lake Erie.

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buffalo ¹ British  

/ ˈbʌfəˌləʊ /

noun

1. 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

2. short for water buffalo

3. 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

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verb

1. (often passive) to confuse

2. to intimidate

Buffalo ² British  

/ ˈbʌfəˌləʊ /

noun

1. a port in W New York State, at the E end of Lake Erie. Pop: 285 018 (2003 est)

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Buffalo Cultural  

1. City in western New York, on Lake Erie and the Niagara River.

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Discover More

Niagara Falls is northwest of Buffalo.

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).

Example Sentences

Barbecue, honey mustard, buffalo, something store-bought, something you stir together in a bowl.

From Salon • May 22, 2026

At the time, he said the money was from selling a buffalo.

From BBC • May 8, 2026

This was a year after her sister had asked, with cameras rolling, whether a can of Chicken of the Sea contained tuna or chicken, and whether Buffalo wings were made out of buffalo.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 2, 2026

Kruger's fauna -- including the famed Big Five grouping of elephant, rhino, lion, leopard and buffalo -- had largely escaped the flooding because animals had sensed the danger and moved to higher lying areas.

From Barron's • Jan. 22, 2026

But the African buffalo is considered the most dangerous and unpredictable large mammal of Africa.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• agitate
• bewilder
• chill
• confound
• daunt
• demoralize
• disconcert
• discourage
• dishearten
• dismay
• dispirit
• distract
• fluster
• frighten
• perturb
• rattle
• sap
• shake
• undermine
• unsettle