fluff
Americannoun
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light, downy particles, as of cotton.
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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.
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an error or blunder, especially an actor's memory lapse in the delivery of lines.
verb (used with object)
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to make into fluff; shake or puff out (feathers, hair, etc.) into a fluffy mass (often followed byup ).
to fluff up the sofa pillows.
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to make a mistake in.
The leading man fluffed his lines.
verb (used without object)
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to become fluffy; move, float, or settle down like fluff.
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to make a mistake, especially in the delivery of lines by a performer; blunder.
noun
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soft light particles, such as the down or nap of cotton or wool
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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
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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
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has fluffedperfect
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am fluffingprogressive
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are fluffingprogressive
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is fluffingprogressive
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have been fluffingperfect progressive
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has been fluffingperfect progressive
Past
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fluffedsimple
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had fluffedperfect
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was fluffingprogressive
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were fluffingprogressive
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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:
“There isn’t a lot of fluff to it,” Garcia said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 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
But Florrie is not just a fun ball of fluff, she has got a job to do: helping young people navigate an increasingly complex world.
From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026
And that tells you how much fluff was in crypto to begin with.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 15, 2026
Give me silence and I’ll fill it with any random fluff that pops into my brain and flies out of my mouth.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Yeh categorizes sweet salads with affection and a wink: cookie salads, Jell-O salads, candy bar salads, fluffs.
From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2025
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
You’d think he’d have it down by now, but he fluffs his lines a few times every night.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 17, 2016
Peter stands behind me, whistling as he fluffs his pillow.
From "Divergent" by Veronica Roth
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
Launched in 1964, four years after Coronation Street, the show initially ran five days a week and was also known for performers' fluffed lines.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 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
She made tiny movements with her beak and fluffed her feathers.
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
It is easy to categorise this result as Unai Emery's side fluffing their moment in the spotlight and blowing their title dreams.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 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
I walk slow around him fluffing his pillows, pressing cool cloths over his forehead telling him the stories that come to me again and again.
From "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson
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.
