buffer

[ buhf-er ]

/ ˈbʌf ər /

Save This Word!

See synonyms for buffer on Thesaurus.com

noun

an apparatus at the end of a railroad car, railroad track, etc., for absorbing shock during coupling, collisions, etc.

any device, material, or apparatus used as a shield, cushion, or bumper, especially on machinery.

any intermediate or intervening shield or device reducing the danger of interaction between two machines, chemicals, electronic components, etc.

a person or thing that shields and protects against annoyance, harm, hostile forces, etc., or that lessens the impact of a shock or reversal.

any reserve moneys, negotiable securities, legal procedures, etc., that protect a person, organization, or country against financial ruin.

buffer state.

Ecology. an animal population that becomes the prey of a predator that usually feeds on a different species.

Computers. a storage device for temporarily holding data until the computer is ready to receive or process the data, as when a receiving unit has an operating speed lower than that of the unit feeding data to it.

Electronics. a circuit with a single output activated by one or more of several inputs.

Chemistry.

any substance or mixture of compounds that, added to a solution, is capable of neutralizing both acids and bases without appreciably changing the original acidity or alkalinity of the solution.
Also called buff·er so·lu·tion. a solution containing such a substance.

verb (used with object)

Chemistry. to treat with a buffer.

to cushion, shield, or protect.

to lessen the adverse effect of; ease: The drug buffered his pain.

Digital Technology. to temporarily save (data) before actively accessing it so that it can be loaded at a rapid or uniform rate: Give the app time to buffer the audio when you are streaming music.You’ll get a load screen while the game buffers those high-resolution graphics.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of buffer

First recorded in 1825–35; buff² + -er¹

OTHER WORDS FROM buffer

un·buff·ered, adjective

Other definitions for buffer (2 of 3)

buffer²

[ buhf-er ]

/ ˈbʌf ər /

noun

a device for polishing or buffing, as a buff stick or buff wheel.

a worker who uses such a device.

Origin of buffer

First recorded in 1850–55; buff¹ + -er¹

Other definitions for buffer (3 of 3)

buffer³

[ buhf-er ]

/ ˈbʌf ər /

noun British Slang.

a foolish or incompetent person.

a fellow; man.

a chief boatswain's mate in the British navy.

Origin of buffer

First recorded in 1745–50; origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use buffer in a sentence

Enhanced unemployment insurance, aid to small businesses designed to help them keep employees, and cash payments to families are an important buffer to preventing bankruptcies and foreclosures, and easing pressure on lenders.
Is gridlock really ‘nirvana’ for stocks? Investors should be wary of these four potential perils|Shawn Tully|November 5, 2020|Fortune
Elections officials also put up new signs and marked the 100-foot buffer zone around the drop box.
Shouting matches, partisan rallies, guns at polling places: Tensions high at early-voting sites|Josh Partlow|October 21, 2020|Washington Post
Gaspar, whose campaign didn’t return multiple requests for an interview, recently told KUSI that the county’s roughly $2 billion reserves are needed as a buffer during the pandemic.
What Republicans Say They’ll Do if They Keep Control of the Board of Supervisors|Jesse Marx|October 20, 2020|Voice of San Diego
That comment suggests Dimon sees no need to keep accumulating earnings previously spent on repurchases as an additional buffer for future losses.
How JPMorgan Chase is proceeding with extreme caution—and still making plenty of money|Shawn Tully|October 14, 2020|Fortune

There are also laws against voter intimidation that could prevent armed civilians from being in the area even if outside the buffer, according to election officials in Minnesota.
Former Special Forces sought by business group to guard polling sites in Minnesota, company says|Josh Partlow|October 9, 2020|Washington Post
Their squeaky clean image has been excessively buffered through the years, even after the band broke up.
98 Degrees Released a New Song About Their Penises|Kevin Fallon|March 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Buffered and enteric-coated aspirin do not eliminate the risk of developing an ulcer.
Could a Daily Aspirin Be Deadly?|Arthur Agatston, M.D.|February 23, 2010|DAILY BEAST
He told me, "There is a theme in the literature about disinhibition, a buffered sense of reality."
Anti-Depressant Nation|Adam Hanft|October 5, 2008|DAILY BEAST
If a high-speed buffered data channel is used, block transfer may occur at memory cycle speeds.
On-Line Data-Acquisition Systems in Nuclear Physics, 1969|H. W. Fulbright et al.
The development of high-speed, buffered, time-of-flight front ends has been a continuing interest at Columbia.
On-Line Data-Acquisition Systems in Nuclear Physics, 1969|H. W. Fulbright et al.
By such behavioral thermoregulation extremes of weather are neutralized, or at least buffered to some degree.
Natural History of the Racer Coluber constrictor|Henry S. Fitch
A happy thought buffered the prick of her yawning conscience.
Regiment of Women|Clemence Dane
The grand duke in the gallery leaned over the velvet-buffered railing.
The Goose Girl|Harold MacGrath

British Dictionary definitions for buffer (1 of 3)

buffer¹

/ (ˈbʌfə) /

noun

one of a pair of spring-loaded steel pads attached at both ends of railway vehicles and at the end of a railway track to reduce shock due to contact

a person or thing that lessens shock or protects from damaging impact, circumstances, etc

chem

an ionic compound, usually a salt of a weak acid or base, added to a solution to resist changes in its acidity or alkalinity and thus stabilize its pH
Also called: buffer solution a solution containing such a compound

computing a memory device for temporarily storing data

electronics an isolating circuit used to minimize the reaction between a driving and a driven circuit

short for buffer state

hit the buffers informal to finish or be stopped, esp unexpectedly

verb (tr)

to insulate against or protect from shock; cushion

chem to add a buffer to (a solution)

Word Origin for buffer

C19: from buff ²

British Dictionary definitions for buffer (2 of 3)

buffer²

/ (ˈbʌfə) /

noun

any device used to shine, polish, etc; buff

a person who uses such a device

British Dictionary definitions for buffer (3 of 3)

buffer³

/ (ˈbʌfə) /

noun

British informal, offensive a stupid or bumbling man (esp in the phrase old buffer)

Word Origin for buffer

C18: perhaps from Middle English buffer stammerer

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

Scientific definitions for buffer

buffer

[ bŭf′ər ]

Chemistry A substance that prevents change in the acidity of a solution when an acid or base is added to the solution or when the solution is diluted. Buffers are used to make solutions of known pH, especially for instrument calibration purposes. Natural buffers also exist in living organisms, where biochemical reactions are very sensitive to changes in pH.

Computer Science A device or an area of a computer that temporarily stores data that is being transferred between two machines that process data at different rates, such as a computer and a printer.

Cultural definitions for buffer

buffer

In chemistry, the components of a solution that can neutralize either an acid or a base and thus maintain a constant pH.

notes for buffer

Buffers are often used in medications designed to decrease acidity in the stomach.

buffer

Origin of buffer

OTHER WORDS FROM buffer

Other definitions for buffer (2 of 3)

Origin of buffer

Other definitions for buffer (3 of 3)

Origin of buffer

Words related to buffer

How to use buffer in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for buffer (1 of 3)

Word Origin for buffer

British Dictionary definitions for buffer (2 of 3)

British Dictionary definitions for buffer (3 of 3)

Word Origin for buffer

Scientific definitions for buffer

Cultural definitions for buffer

notes for buffer