fluff
Americannoun
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fluffs
plural
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light, downy particles, as of cotton.
-
a soft, light, downy mass.
a fluff of summer clouds.
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something of no consequence.
The book is pure fluff, but fun to read.
-
an error or blunder, especially an actor's memory lapse in the delivery of lines.
verb (used with object)
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fluffs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fluffed,
past participle, past
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fluffing
present participle
-
to make into fluff; shake or puff out (feathers, hair, etc.) into a fluffy mass (often followed byup ).
to fluff up the sofa pillows.
-
to make a mistake in.
The leading man fluffed his lines.
verb (used without object)
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fluffs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fluffed,
past participle, past
-
fluffing
present participle
-
to become fluffy; move, float, or settle down like fluff.
-
to make a mistake, especially in the delivery of lines by a performer; blunder.
noun
-
soft light particles, such as the down or nap of cotton or wool
-
any light downy substance
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an object, matter, etc, of little importance; trifle
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informal a mistake, esp in speaking or reading lines or performing music
-
informal a young woman (esp in the phrase a bit of fluff )
verb
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to make or become soft and puffy by shaking or patting; puff up
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informal to make a mistake in performing (an action, dramatic speech, music, etc)
Usage
What does fluff mean? Fluff is a light, soft mass, such as cotton or a cloud, as in After I shaved my head, the hair that grew back was soft, like fluff. To fluff something means to shake or puff out something, as with pillows. When you fluff your hair, you might shake it out a bit so that it puffs up and looks fluffy. Fluff can also describe something that is of little importance, such as a novel that someone deems fun but not at all serious. Fluff is also a mistake, especially a situation in which an actor forgets their lines. To fluff is to make such a mistake, as in Valerie fluffed her lines during the first scene, but she quickly recovered. Example: When Grace and I were stuffing the pillows we had made, we had fluff flying all over the living room.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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fluffsimple
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fluffssimple
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have fluffedperfect
-
has fluffedperfect
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am fluffingprogressive
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are fluffingprogressive
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is fluffingprogressive
-
have been fluffingperfect progressive
-
has been fluffingperfect progressive
Past
-
fluffedsimple
-
had fluffedperfect
-
was fluffingprogressive
-
were fluffingprogressive
-
had been fluffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fluff
Explanation
Fluff is a soft, light puffy or feathery material. Your pet angora rabbit is covered in fluff, and when you blow the down off a dandelion, you can call that fluff too. A department store window designer might use white cotton fluff as snow in his holiday display, and a bored dog might pull the fluff out of every pillow in the house while you're at work. The word fluff is also a verb meaning "to shake or ruffle until something looks fuller." It's also a great way to describe something meaningless or frivolous: "I had high hopes for the newspaper article, but it was just fluff."
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:
It breaks the leather down into a fibre fluff, which is sprayed on to thin sheets of tissue paper.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2026
Medicine and science were serious; communication was fluff.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
But both he and Balda know how much medicine the audience can handle in their fluff before the bitterness overwhelms the sweet.
From Salon ● May 17, 2026
Most recent media articles about Trinity are AI-generated fluff while there are thousands about Apple and its products.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
I sat in George LaTrell’s truck and picked at the stuffing coming out of the seat, and then I threw the little pieces of stuffing fluff out the window.
From "Louisiana's Way Home" by Kate DiCamillo
Yeh categorizes sweet salads with affection and a wink: cookie salads, Jell-O salads, candy bar salads, fluffs.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2025
At this point she fluffs her lines, double faulting tamely to hand Pliskova a vital break.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 20, 2020
His white hair fluffs out above his tanned face.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2019
I’m reminded of nature’s delightful courtship rituals, like that of the bird of paradise, who clears a little spot of forest floor, fluffs his bright-colored feathers and busts a jaunty little move for the ladies.
From New York Times ● Sep. 4, 2018
Mrs. Walton fluffs the crinoline slip under my dress and puts on my glasslike Cinderella-style slippers.
From "Like Vanessa" by Tami Charles
Savinho was guilty of a woeful miss when he fired wide from Cherki's pass just after the interval and the Brazilian fluffed his lines again moments later, failing to beat Roefs from close-range.
From Barron's ● Jan. 1, 2026
After pop star Anne-Marie's frenetic pre-match show, England fluffed their own first lines, failing to catch the kick-off.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025
Short answer: Syrupy oil fluffed into a semi-solid.
From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2025
Verreynne fluffed a ramp - UltraEdge showing he had in fact got some bat on it - before he delivered the winning moment in a more orthodox fashion on the drive.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2025
Frightful, who was sitting on the foot post of the bed, yawned, fluffed, and thrust her head into the slate gray feathers of her back.
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Heading into the free skate section in the lead, Malinin capitulated, fluffing his signature quad axel jump and falling twice to the ice to plummet to eighth spot overall.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
The eagle awoke and shook out its feathers, fluffing the straw surrounding the trio of eggs as the camera zoomed in.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2025
So now Saka’s getting bashed for fluffing his résumé — the firefighters called it a “lie” — when Saka didn’t have anything to do with it.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2023
In 13 minutes, Rihanna casually performed snippets of 12 hits, universally known songs that don’t require much in the way of fluffing or bombast.
From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2023
One of the Speckled Sussex went over to a pile of wood shavings in a corner, sat down, and started fluffing up her feathers.
From "Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer" by Kelly Jones
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