huff
[huhf]
- a mood of sulking anger; a fit of resentment: Just because you disagree, don't walk off in a huff.
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- to give offense to; make angry.
- to treat with arrogance or contempt; bluster at; hector or bully.
- Checkers. to remove (a piece) from the board as a penalty for failing to make a compulsory capture.
- Slang. to inhale the vapors of in order to become intoxicated: to huff glue.
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- to take offense; speak indignantly.
- to puff or blow; breathe heavily.
- to swell with pride or arrogance; swagger or bluster.
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Origin of huff
1575–85; imitative; see puff
Synonyms
See more synonyms for huff on Thesaurus.com1. temper, passion, pique, pet.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for huff
Contemporary Examples
With that, he took a huff off a morning joint and moved into the throng of jovial patrons.
So we salute you, Mr. Fielder, even as we continue to huff and puff at the gym in pursuit of those rippling ridges.
Prince Fielder’s Demi Moore Moment: World Loses It Over Athlete Without Six-PackTim Teeman
July 10, 2014
In response, Smith quit the party in a huff that July, trashing it as insufficiently principled on his way out the door.
In elementary school, children will disagree and fight, then storm away in a huff and simply ignore each other.
“We have activities together, we see each other, we eat, we pet our dogs,” Huff told The Daily Beast.
Historical Examples
But he threw me off his shoulders in a huff, among the daisies and the cyclamens.
The Book of KhalidAmeen Rihani
James left the kitchen in a huff to return to his duties in the breakfast-room.
A Modern TomboyL. T. Meade
And despite all apology and protest, he left the house in a huff.
The Young MountaineersCharles Egbert Craddock
Then, I left him, in a huff, declaring that he couldn't drive me away.
The Last WomanRoss Beeckman
Percy slammed down the cover and tossed away the can in a huff.
Jim Spurling, FishermanAlbert Walter Tolman
huff
- a passing mood of anger or pique (esp in the phrase in a huff)
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- to make or become angry or resentful
- (intr) to blow or puff heavily
- Also: blow draughts to remove (an opponent's draught) from the board for failure to make a capture
- (tr) obsolete to bully
- huffing and puffing empty threats or objections; bluster
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Word Origin
C16: of imitative origin; compare puff
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
Word Origin and History for huff
v.
mid-15c., apparently imitative of exhaling. Extended sense of "bluster with indignation" is attested from 1590s. Related: Huffed; huffing. As a slang term for a type of narcotics abuse, by 1996. As a noun from 1590s; to leave in a huff is recorded from 1778. Popular terms for "strong beer or ale" noted from 1577 include huff cap as well as mad dog and dragon's milk.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with huff
huff
In addition to the idiom beginning with huff
- huff and puff
also see:
- in a huff
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.