faff

British

/ fæf /

verb

informal to dither or fuss

"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

Etymology

Origin of faff

C19: of obscure origin

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.

He said it would aim to make people's lives easier by "cutting the faff" involved in providing multiple examples of identification for tasks such as applying to university, buying a house or renting.

From BBC

"I fret, she doesn't faff, she's really patient with my fretting and I love her non-faffing. We really do get on incredibly well," he says.

From BBC

"Dead reyt", "faff" and "keep gu'in" are words you don’t often see in video games.

From BBC

I know I have friends with iPhones who have dismissed the "faff" of changing to another brand, even if they like the look of something different.

From BBC

"I feel brilliant once I've done it and I love it and could chat all day about it but before it - we do faff a lot," she said.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023