buff

[ buhf ]

/ bʌf /

noun

a soft, thick, light-yellow leather with a napped surface, originally made from buffalo skin but later also from other skins, used for making belts, pouches, etc.

a brownish-yellow color; tan.

a buff stick or buff wheel.

a devotee or well-informed student of some activity or subject: Civil War buffs avidly read the new biography of Grant.

Informal. the bare skin: in the buff.

Also called buffcoat. a thick, short coat of buffalo leather, worn especially by English soldiers and American colonists in the 17th century.

Informal. a buffalo.

adjective

having the color of buff.

made of buff leather.

Slang. physically attractive; muscular.

verb (used with object)

to clean or polish (metal) or give a grainless finish of high luster to (plated surfaces) with or as if with a buff stick or buff wheel.

to polish or shine, especially with a buffer: to buff shoes.

to dye or stain in a buff color.

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Take this quiz to see if you really know the difference between “compliment” and “complement"!

Question 1 of 11

“Compliment” and “complement” had a shared meaning a long time ago, but today they are no longer interchangeable.

True

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Origin of buff

1545–55; 1900–05 for def 4; earlier buffe wild ox, back formation from buffle < Middle French < Late Latin būfalus; see buffalo; (def 4) originally a person enthusiastic about firefighting and firefighters, allegedly after the buff uniforms once worn by volunteer firefighters in New York City

SYNONYMS FOR buff

10 burnish, shine.

OTHER WORDS FROM buff

buff·a·bil·i·ty, nounbuff·a·ble, adjective

Words nearby buff

buenos aires, buenos días, buerger's disease, buf, bufadienolide, buff, buff stick, buff top, buff wheel, buff-tip moth, buffa

Definition for buffed (2 of 2)

buff²

[ buhf ]

/ bʌf /

verb (used with object)

to reduce or deaden the force of; act as a buffer.

noun

Chiefly British Dialect. a blow; slap.

Origin of buff

1375–1425; late Middle English buffe, back formation from buffet¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for buffed

Inside, patrons can sip on bespoke whisky and coffee while getting that buffed and polished look.
The Most Exciting New Hotels, Restaurants, and Submarines of 2014|Charlie Gilbert|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The buffed and handsome pair could be seen on early-morning runs around the walled compound.
Early Signs of General Petraeus’s Extramarital Affair|John Barry|November 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Koon: Buffed out is jargon that I have come to associate with very muscular.
L.A. Riots Anniversary: Stacey Koon’s Disturbing Testimony|Christine Pelisek|April 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Would you please describe to the jury what buffed out means to you.
L.A. Riots Anniversary: Stacey Koon’s Disturbing Testimony|Christine Pelisek|April 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Mounger: With regard to your state of mind, what were you thinking when you saw this buffed out person?
L.A. Riots Anniversary: Stacey Koon’s Disturbing Testimony|Christine Pelisek|April 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
He was all his grandfather was, only sandpapered, buffed and polished by civilization.
Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 7|Elbert Hubbard
So he rubbed wax until his elbows ached, massaged the wax into the wood, buffed it with shop rags so that the house shone.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town|Cory Doctorow
It had been washed and buffed and polished until it looked as new as the day I picked it out on the salesroom floor.
Highways in Hiding|George Oliver Smith
I buffed for a while, and then I put the fishbowl on my head and looked through it.
The Risk Profession|Donald Edwin Westlake

British Dictionary definitions for buffed (1 of 3)

buff¹

/ (bʌf) /

noun

a soft thick flexible undyed leather made chiefly from the skins of buffalo, oxen, and elk
(as modifier)a buff coat

a dull yellow or yellowish-brown colour
(as adjective)buff paint

Also called: buffer

a cloth or pad of material used for polishing an object
a flexible disc or wheel impregnated with a fine abrasive for polishing metals, etc, with a power tool

informal one's bare skin (esp in the phrase in the buff)

verb

to clean or polish (a metal, floor, shoes, etc) with a buff

to remove the grain surface of (a leather)

Word Origin for buff

C16: from Old French buffle, from Old Italian bufalo, from Late Latin būfalus buffalo

British Dictionary definitions for buffed (2 of 3)

buff²

/ (bʌf) /

verb

(tr) to deaden the force of

noun

archaic a blow or buffet (now only in the phrase blind man's buff)

Word Origin for buff

C15: back formation from buffet ²

British Dictionary definitions for buffed (3 of 3)

buff³

/ (bʌf) /

noun

informal an expert on or devotee of a given subjecta cheese buff

Word Origin for buff

C20: originally US: an enthusiastic fire watcher, from the buff-coloured uniforms worn by volunteer firemen in New York City

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with buffed

buff

see in the buff.

buff

noun

adjective

verb (used with object)

QUIZZES

CAN YOU ACE THIS QUIZ ABOUT “COMPLIMENT” VS. “COMPLEMENT”?

Origin of buff

SYNONYMS FOR buff

OTHER WORDS FROM buff

Words nearby buff

Definition for buffed (2 of 2)

verb (used with object)

noun

Origin of buff

Words related to buffed

Example sentences from the Web for buffed

British Dictionary definitions for buffed (1 of 3)

noun

verb

Word Origin for buff

British Dictionary definitions for buffed (2 of 3)

verb

noun

Word Origin for buff

British Dictionary definitions for buffed (3 of 3)

noun

Word Origin for buff

Idioms and Phrases with buffed