huff

[huhf]

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.

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

Related Words for huffing

snit, puff, heave, annoyance, perturbation, miff, rage, pet, tiff, umbrage, pique, dudgeon, passion, stew, anger, offense, temper, blow, gasp, expire

Examples from the Web for huffing

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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

Historical Examples of huffing

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
It was Sheriff Coogan, puffing and huffing, the metal-and-gold cloth uniform ludicrous on his lanky frame.
Dream Town
Henry Slesar
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
Many cheese makers think that the milk from an animal suffering from a garget may be the cause of the huffing of cheese.
Outlines of dairy bacteriology
H. L. Russell

British Dictionary definitions for huffing

huffing

noun

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

Derived Formshuffer, noun

huff

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 Formshuffish 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

Word Origin and History for huffing

huff

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.

Idioms and Phrases with huffing

huff

In addition to the idiom beginning with huff

huff and puff

also see:

in a huff