buffet

[ buh-fey, boo- or, especially for adjective, boo-fey; British buhf-it ]

/ bəˈfeɪ, bʊ- or, especially for adjective, ˈbu feɪ; British ˈbʌf ɪt /

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See synonyms for: buffet / buffeted / buffeting on Thesaurus.com

noun

a variety of dishes presented in a line, from which diners in a restaurant serve themselves, usually at a fixed price regardless of how much one eats: The lavish all-you-can-eat buffet delivered a feast of salads, curries, pasta dishes, and sumptuous desserts for $40.
a restaurant where food is presented in this way: They own one of the best high-end buffets in the country.

a meal laid out on one or more tables so that guests may serve themselves.

a sideboard or cabinet for holding china, table linen, etc.

a wide variety of things to choose from: The school’s internet safety workshop contains a buffet of ideas for parents in the 21st century.

a counter, bar, or the like, for lunch or refreshments.

a restaurant containing such a counter or bar.

adjective

consisting of food, refreshments, etc., laid out on tables or buffets from which guests or customers serve themselves: a buffet supper;buffet service.

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Origin of buffet

First recorded in 1710–20; from French, Old French; of obscure origin

Other definitions for buffet (2 of 2)

buffet²

[ buhf-it ]

/ ˈbʌf ɪt /

noun

a blow, as with the hand or fist.

a violent shock or concussion.

verb (used with object), buf·fet·ed, buf·fet·ing.

to strike, as with the hand or fist.

to strike against or push repeatedly: The wind buffeted the house.

to contend against; battle.

verb (used without object), buf·fet·ed, buf·fet·ing.

to struggle with blows of hand or fist.

to force one's way by a fight, struggle, etc.

OTHER WORDS FOR buffet

3 slap, cuff, box, hit, sock, wallop.

See synonyms for buffet on Thesaurus.com

Origin of buffet

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, Old French buffe “a blow” + -et -et

OTHER WORDS FROM buffet

buf·fet·er, nounun·buf·fet·ed, adjective

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

How to use buffet in a sentence

Also, place hand sanitizer by any outdoor workstations or high-touch surfaces and at the end of the buffet line.
Your Guide to Throwing an Outdoor Thanksgiving|AC Shilton|November 17, 2020|Outside Online
Plainly the modern menu of sound is a vast, all-you-can-eat buffet.
Please Get Your Noise Out of My Ears (Ep. 439)|Stephen J. Dubner|November 12, 2020|Freakonomics
The lamp is 24 inches tall and would work next to a bed, on a desk or on a dining room buffet.
Shopping with the pros: Annie Elliott shares her favorite items from Room & Board|Mari-Jane Williams|November 5, 2020|Washington Post
The all-you-can-eat buffet brings out an exotic parade of creatures of various sizes, shapes and appetites.
Whales get a second life as deep-sea buffets|Stephen Ornes|October 15, 2020|Science News For Students

The history of the buffet in America is a story of ingenuity and evolution.
Fast-Food Buffets Are a Thing of the Past. Some Doubt They Ever Even Existed.|MM Carrigan|September 29, 2020|Eater
It has been subject to political sensitivities and soapbox rhetoric, buffeted by popular disbelief and official omertà.
Why Humanitarians Talk to ISIS|Joshua Hersh|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A re-elected President finds himself buffeted by violence abroad and hostile political winds at home.
How Iraq Became Obama’s War|Jeff Greenfield|July 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Beltway firms large and small have been buffeted by the sequester.
Booz Allen Keeps Winning Government Security Contracts After Snowden Leak|Filipa Ioannou|August 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
In the last scene, he uses his calculus of flow to rescue an Iraqi boy from a fast-moving, wind-buffeted river.
Joseph McElroy’s ‘Cannonball’ Is the Meta Iraq War Novel|Tom LeClair|July 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The Czech government has been buffeted in recent months by a series of corruption scandals that have threatened to bring it down.
Czech Republic's President Might be Tried for Treason|David Frum|February 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Thereafter we were buffeted like chips in the swirling maw of a whirlpool; we fought our way rod by rod.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
Off the coast of South Carolina they ran into a heavy storm, and the great ship creaked and groaned as it buffeted wind and wave.
The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch|Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter
All night the gale buffeted the high windows of the church, and howled over the upland and roared through the woodland.
A Thin Ghost and Others|M. R. (Montague Rhodes) James
By this time the barque was being helplessly buffeted about amongst the reefs, a little less than a mile and a half from shore.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont|Louis de Rougemont
How gladly he would have seized this offer of a comfortable, luxurious home, after having been buffeted about the world so long!
File No. 113|Emile Gaboriau

British Dictionary definitions for buffet (1 of 3)

buffet¹

noun

(ˈbʊfeɪ) a counter where light refreshments are served

(ˈbʊfeɪ)

a meal at which guests help themselves from a number of dishes and often eat standing up
(as modifier)a buffet lunch

(ˈbʌfɪt, ˈbʊfeɪ) a piece of furniture used from medieval times to the 18th century for displaying plates, etc and typically comprising one or more cupboards and some open shelves

(ˈbʌfɪ) Scot and Northern English dialect a kind of low stool, pouffe, or hassock

Word Origin for buffet

C18: from French, of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for buffet (2 of 3)

buffet²

/ (ˈbʌfɪt) /

verb -fets, -feting or -feted

(tr) to knock against or about; batterthe wind buffeted the boat

(tr) to hit, esp with the fist; cuff

to force (one's way), as through a crowd

(intr) to struggle; battle

noun

a blow, esp with a fist or hand

aerodynamic excitation of an aircraft structure by separated flows

Derived forms of buffet

buffeter, noun

Word Origin for buffet

C13: from Old French buffeter, from buffet a light blow, from buffe, of imitative origin

British Dictionary definitions for buffet (3 of 3)

Buffet

/ (French byfɛ) /

noun

Bernard (bɛrnar). 1928–99, French painter and engraver. His works are characterized by sombre tones and thin angular forms

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

buffet

Origin of buffet

Other definitions for buffet (2 of 2)

OTHER WORDS FOR buffet

Origin of buffet

OTHER WORDS FROM buffet

Words related to buffet

How to use buffet in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for buffet (1 of 3)

Word Origin for buffet

British Dictionary definitions for buffet (2 of 3)

Derived forms of buffet

Word Origin for buffet

British Dictionary definitions for buffet (3 of 3)