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
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Amazing Animals, List 1
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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:
Real-life proprietor Andrea Pruett, a sweet but steely Southerner who kept her own gun behind the counter, greeted them in French and German, then fed them buffalo burgers and omelets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 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
Another Outback creature, commonly found in the Northern Territory, is the buffalo.
From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026
One project in the works: a buffalo mac and cheese packing 40 grams of protein for GLP-1 users trying to stave off muscle loss.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
“How about the zoo, huh? Don’t you want to know what I was doing at the zoo? At the buffalo pen?”
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
The 2-3 Rams, who opened the season as Super Bowl favorites, released kicker Harrison Mevis after last Monday’s overtime loss to the Buffalo Bills and signed Grupe from the New York Jets practice squad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 17, 2026
The Rams had elected to boot the ball away and let the Buffalo Bills have it first.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
“When the ball was in his hands,” Buffalo coach Joe Brady said, “he made plays when we needed him to at the end.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
Matthew Stafford and the Rams fall to 2-3 on the season after Buffalo blocks a winning field-goal attempt in overtime during L.A.’s 37-34 loss.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
A reporter crowed, “It has become a settled fact that Burr’s and the Buffalo doctors’ theories are the silliest humbugs of the day.”
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Another woman, Goma Pandit, said she had lost her buffaloes and all her other cattle.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 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
The buffaloes were being chased by lions in neighbouring Botswana when they "fell from a deep cliff" into the Chobe River on the Namibian side of the border, it added in a statement.
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
They go for zebras, gnus and water buffaloes, and not only the old or the infirm in a herd—full-grown members too.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Water buffalos, cows and donkeys share dirt roads with cars, motorbikes and horse-drawn carts.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2025
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
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
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
Laurie thinks she’s got Angela buffaloed, and then Angela comes back and basically cuts her legs from under her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2019
They get good stories, because the newspapers get buffaloed.
From Time ● Jun. 16, 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
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
