duff
1 Americannoun
noun
verb (used with object)
-
duffs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
duffed,
past participle, past
-
duffing
present participle
-
to give a deliberately deceptive appearance to; misrepresent; fake.
-
British. (in golf ) to misplay (a golf ball), especially to misjudge one's swing so that the club strikes the ground behind the ball before hitting it.
-
Australian.
-
to steal (cattle).
-
(formerly) to alter the brand on (stolen cattle).
-
-
to cheat someone.
noun
-
organic matter in various stages of decomposition on the floor of the forest.
-
fine, dry coal, especially anthracite.
verb
-
slang to change the appearance of or give a false appearance to (old or stolen goods); fake
-
slang to steal (cattle), altering the brand
-
Also: sclaff. informal golf to bungle (a shot) by hitting the ground behind the ball
adjective
noun
-
a thick flour pudding, often flavoured with currants, citron, etc, and boiled in a cloth bag
plum duff
-
slang pregnant
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
duffsimple
-
duffssimple
-
have duffedperfect
-
has duffedperfect
-
am duffingprogressive
-
are duffingprogressive
-
is duffingprogressive
-
have been duffingperfect progressive
-
has been duffingperfect progressive
Past
-
duffedsimple
-
had duffedperfect
-
was duffingprogressive
-
were duffingprogressive
-
had been duffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of duff1
First recorded in 1885–90; expressive word, perhaps akin to doup
Origin of duff2
First recorded in 1830–40; dialectal variant ( Scots, North England) of dough
Origin of duff3
First recorded in 1830–40; back formation from duffer, in the slang senses “something inferior or counterfeit” or “a peddler of inferior goods”
Origin of duff4
First recorded in 1835–45; originally Scots dialect; perhaps metaphorical use of duff 2, by association with Scots dowf “decayed, rotten,” deaf “(of soil) unproductive, springy to the tread”; see dowf
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
A duff pass from Tommy Freeman drew the first groan from the stands inside 30 seconds.
From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2025
But something transformative occurs in a primordial world where a sorrel-carpeted floor and waist-high sword ferns surround towering redwoods, where duff from the needles floats above the understory like soft snow.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 1, 2023
The duff — needles, branches and other plant detritus — is 2 to 3 feet deep in some parts of the Angeles National Forest, he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2022
Fire can smolder below the surface in the duff for weeks.
From New York Times ● Aug. 20, 2022
So Grandma was smart—she was trying to get Ernie off his duff.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
The song’s composer used Indian skin drums called duffs, whose sound he compared to the traditional beats of folk songs celebrated in villages.
From New York Times ● Feb. 22, 2023
But, perhaps most importantly, she’s here to remind others to get off their duffs and out into the world, no matter their ages.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2021
He leaves his second short and right, then, to pantomime gasps from the gallery, duffs a chip into the face of a bank.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 15, 2021
But nobody will ever discover those capabilities if Siri duffs the basics on an equally regular basis.
From The Verge ● Sep. 14, 2020
“We aren’t just going to sit around on our fat duffs and do nothing, are we?”
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
I don't know how far he's got into it, because I saw him playing not long ago and he duffed his chip into the water.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2023
But he duffed the first pitch shot and made bogey.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 17, 2022
He found water off the tee and duffed a chip which did not make it to the green but steadied himself sufficiently to reel off seven pars from there.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 8, 2020
My only real concern was when they duffed a shot a few yards into the infield and instinctively chased after it, narrowly avoiding shanked 8-irons that screamed by their heads.
From Golf Digest ● Jun. 16, 2019
And how he duffed in in the other department!
From The Story of Leather by Sara Ware Bassett
BROADCASTER: He went into his previous Masters duffing chips all over the place, yet he was fine when he got there, so you can never tell with him.
From Golf Digest ● Mar. 13, 2018
He can’t make it nine consecutive points on his serve, duffing another lob into the net, but he holds to 15 with a booming ace down the middle.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 29, 2016
England's agony has gone on, day after day, like that same golfer being forced to play round after failing round, an Open every week, duffing drives and missing putts, swing in pieces, galleries guffawing.
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2013
While they ought to be duffing up Macedonia at home, Croatia must negotiate a potentially awkward match in Wales, who could make life difficult for Igor Stimac's side.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 24, 2013
So perhaps there won't be any need for "duffing" after all.'
From Robbery under Arms; a story of life and adventure in the bush and in the Australian goldfields by Rolf Boldrewood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
