buffalo
[ buhf-uh-loh ]
/ ˈbʌf əˌloʊ /
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noun, plural buf·fa·loes, buf·fa·los, (especially collectively) buf·fa·lo.
any of several large wild oxen of the family Bovidae.Compare bison, Cape buffalo, water buffalo.
a buffalofish.
a shuffling tap-dance step.
verb (used with object), buf·fa·loed, buf·fa·lo·ing.Informal.
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.
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Origin of buffalo
1535–45, Americanism; earlier bufalo<Portuguese (now bufaro) <Late Latin būfalus, variant of Latin būbalusbubal
Other definitions for buffalo (2 of 2)
Buffalo
[ buhf-uh-loh ]
/ ˈbʌf əˌloʊ /
noun
a port in W New York, on Lake Erie.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use buffalo in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for buffalo (1 of 2)
buffalo
/ (ˈbʌfəˌləʊ) /
noun plural -loes or -lo
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 US and Canadian 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 backRelated adjective: bubaline
verb (tr) US and Canadian informal
(often passive) to confuse
to intimidate
Word Origin for buffalo
C16: from Italian bufalo, from Late Latin būfalus, alteration of Latin būbalus; see bubal
British Dictionary definitions for buffalo (2 of 2)
Buffalo
/ (ˈbʌfəˌləʊ) /
noun
a port in W New York State, at the E end of Lake Erie. Pop: 285 018 (2003 est)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Cultural definitions for buffalo
notes for Buffalo
Niagara Falls is northwest of Buffalo.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.