huff

[ huhf ]

/ hʌf /

noun

a mood of sulking anger; a fit of resentment: Just because you disagree, don't walk off in a huff.

verb (used with object)

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.

verb (used without object)

to take offense; speak indignantly.

to puff or blow; breathe heavily.

to swell with pride or arrogance; swagger or bluster.

Nearby words

huerta, huesca, huevos rancheros, huey, hueytown, huff, huff and puff, huff-duff, huffing, huffish, huffy

Origin of huff

1575–85; imitative; see puff

SYNONYMS FOR huff

1 temper, passion, pique, pet.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for huffing

He looked like such a fool, pointing and gesturing and huffing and puffing.
Various Thoughts: Demography, Rove, Morris, the Great Nate, &c.|Michael Tomasky|November 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST
One wonders whether the government is huffing and puffing to cover up its own incompetence.
Blame the Defense Department for WikiLeaks|James C. Goodale|March 18, 2011|DAILY BEAST
But even if your older gentleman is still breathing, he may not be huffing along vigorously enough to keep you young.
Why Do Cougars Die Young?|Hannah Seligson|May 15, 2010|DAILY BEAST
He who will establish this proposition by authority and huffing discovers his reason to be very weak.
The Essays of Montaigne, Complete|Michel de Montaigne

Huffing and snubbing, prey upon my feelings; but I can bear them without complaint.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. XI.--April, 1851--Vol. II.|Various
There is in "Titus" none of Kyd's "huffing, bragging, puft" language.
The Critics Versus Shakspere|Francis A. Smith
Yes, sir: he scorned all Famagosta when he was in his huffing, and now he lies puffing for wind, they say they scorn him.
The Mermaid Series. Edited by H. Ellis. The best plays of the old dramatists. Thomas Dekker. Edited, with an introduction and notes by Ernest Rhys.|Thomas Dekker
I have so lost them when I was half fit to keep them: they are sooner prevailed upon by courtesy than huffing.
The Essays of Montaigne, Complete|Michel de Montaigne

British Dictionary definitions for huffing (1 of 2)

huffing

/ (ˈhʌfɪŋ) /

noun

slang the practice of inhaling toxic fumes from glue and other household products for their intoxicating effects

Derived Forms

huffer, noun

British Dictionary definitions for huffing (2 of 2)

huff

/ (hʌf) /

noun

a passing mood of anger or pique (esp in the phrase in a huff)

verb

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

Derived Forms

huffish or huffy, adjectivehuffily or huffishly, adverbhuffiness or huffishness, noun

Word Origin for huff

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

Idioms and Phrases with huffing

huff

In addition to the idiom beginning with huff

huff and puff

also see:

in a huff