chaff

[ chaf, chahf ]

/ tʃæf, tʃɑf /

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See synonyms for: chaff / chaffed / chaffing on Thesaurus.com

noun

the husks of grains and grasses that are separated during threshing.

straw cut up for fodder.

worthless matter; refuse.

the membranous, usually dry, brittle bracts of the flowers of certain plants.

Also called window. Military. strips of metal foil dropped by an aircraft to confuse enemy radar by creating false blips.

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Question 1 of 7

IS and ARE are both forms of which verb?

have

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Origin of chaff

before 1000; Middle English chaf,Old English ceaf; cognate with Middle Low German, Dutch kaf

OTHER WORDS FROM chaff

chaffless, adjectivechafflike, adjective

Words nearby chaff

chaetopod, chaetotaxy, chafe, chafer, chafeweed, chaff, chaffer, chaffinch, chaffy, chafing dish, Chaga

Other definitions for chaff (2 of 2)

chaff²

[ chaf, chahf ]

/ tʃæf, tʃɑf /

verb (used with or without object)

to mock, tease, or jest in a good-natured way; banter: She chaffed him for working late. They joked and chaffed with each other.

noun

good-natured ridicule or teasing; raillery.

Origin of chaff

First recorded in 1640–50; perhaps from chaff¹

OTHER WORDS FROM chaff

chaff·ing·ly, adverbun·chaffed, adjectiveun·chaff·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use chaff in a sentence

Conscious reasoning is helpful in sorting the wheat from the chaff, but it would be interesting to consider the hidden aquifers that make much of the grain grow in the first place.
The power of rational thinking in a world that seems unreasonable|Nick Romeo|October 8, 2021|Washington Post
Assam is Modi’s grand laboratory, where he is putting Muslims to the litmus test of a citizen verification drive—separating the trueborn from the chaff—before taking it national.
Is India Headed for an Anti-Muslim Genocide?|Debasish Roy Chowdhury|October 4, 2021|Time
The wheat from the chaff will get separated very, very quickly here.
Peter Beck on Rocket Lab’s public listing debut, space SPACs and the Neutron rocket|Aria Alamalhodaei|August 25, 2021|TechCrunch
You’re trying to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak.
With 12 men exonerated, the force behind Maryland’s Innocence Project hangs it up|Tim Prudente|June 3, 2021|Washington Post

There is good free content on YouTube—including on Perrigo’s or Albrecht’s feeds—but you have to sift through a lot of chaff.
I Was a Bad Dog Owner. Don’t Be Like Me.|Kate Siber|May 11, 2021|Outside Online
For CinemaSins, the cookie cutter approach often takes much of the chaff, but leaves behind the wheat.
The Witty Genius of YouTube’s CinemaSins: Everything Wrong with Your Favorite Movie|Rich Goldstein|April 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I say you're no good as an interview because no one is very good at sorting the wheat from the chaff.
Even Google Doesn't Do Interviews Better|Megan McArdle|June 20, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Yankees tend to shrug off such numbers as largely the chaff drifting down.
As the North Rests on Its Laurels, the South Is Rising Fast|Joel Kotkin|June 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Your miner friends notice the stiffness of your walk and chaff you about it.
Thatcher's Economic Legacy|Megan McArdle|April 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
For a graduate seminar at Georgetown, the chaff-to-wheat ratio is disturbingly high.
Hagel the Academic Hack|Justin Green|January 31, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Even if poverty were gone, the flail could still beat hard enough upon the grain and chaff of humanity.
The Unsolved Riddle of Social Justice|Stephen Leacock
Though the amount played for is serious, a good deal of rather bald conversation and chaff goes on.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Don't chaff, Shirtings; you're a very good fellow, you know, but I'm not in a laughing humour.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
I'm told that the old men when they were together would chaff each other about their children.
A Butterfly on the Wheel|Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
The soft easy chaff bed gave her more of rest and satisfaction than if it had been eiderdown.
The Underworld|James C. Welsh

British Dictionary definitions for chaff (1 of 2)

chaff¹

/ (tʃɑːf) /

noun

the mass of husks, etc, separated from the seeds during threshing

finely cut straw and hay used to feed cattle

something of little worth; rubbish (esp in the phrase separate the wheat from the chaff)

the dry membranous bracts enclosing the flowers of certain composite plants

thin strips of metallic foil released into the earth's atmosphere to confuse radar signals and prevent detection

Derived forms of chaff

chaffy, adjective

Word Origin for chaff

Old English ceaf; related to Old High German keva husk

British Dictionary definitions for chaff (2 of 2)

chaff²

/ (tʃɑːf) /

noun

light-hearted teasing or joking; banter

verb

to tease good-naturedly; banter

Derived forms of chaff

chaffer, noun

Word Origin for chaff

C19: probably slang variant of chafe, perhaps influenced by chaff 1

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

chaff

Origin of chaff

OTHER WORDS FROM chaff

Words nearby chaff

Other definitions for chaff (2 of 2)

Origin of chaff

OTHER WORDS FROM chaff

Words related to chaff

How to use chaff in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for chaff (1 of 2)

Derived forms of chaff

Word Origin for chaff

British Dictionary definitions for chaff (2 of 2)

Derived forms of chaff

Word Origin for chaff