poof

¹ American  

[poof, poof] / pʊf, puf /

interjection

1. (used to express or indicate a sudden disappearance).

   Poof! The magician made the rabbit disappear.

2. pooh.

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poof ² American  

[poof, poof] / puf, pʊf /

Sometimes pooff; also pouf;

noun

British Slang.

• poofs
  plural

1. Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a gay man.

2. Offensive. an effeminate male.

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poof British  

/ pʊf, puːf /

noun

1. derogatory a male homosexual

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• poofy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• poofs
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of poof¹

First recorded in 1815–25

Origin of poof²

First recorded in 1840–50; from French pouffe “puff”; see origin at pouf ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

poof poofs

“Remember when Hulk smashed that thing? And Thanos made everyone go poof? And Black Widow met her Russian family? And? And? And? Yeah. That was awesome.”

From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026

The countries were close to an agreement until, poof, the cease-fire blew up at the last minute with each side blaming the other.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

"They were very, very close to having an agreement, and then you know, poof, it's all gone," Hoekstra said in an interview last week with Canadian broadcaster CTV.

From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026

“We started in 2017 on this bid and it just always seemed like it was a long way away. Then, all of sudden, poof, we’re at one year out.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2025

She wanted it to be good, and she'd practiced in front of the mirror all summer and role-played with Reagan, but every one of those rehearsed lines disappeared out of her head like poof!

From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton

The dimly lit gallery fills with mist oozing from ceiling jets and glowing neon-green lasers cut through the fog, illuminating it along with wafting poofs of dust.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2023

When characters fly or fall through the sky in cartoons, they often eat, grab or even wear clouds as if the sky poofs were made of cotton balls.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 10, 2022

The red panda Mei poofs into is giant, bright orange-red and adorable, capable of turning even the mean girls at school into cooing, weeping fans.

From Salon ● Mar. 14, 2022

This can be derailing at the best of times, but whenever Mei feels overwhelmed or something makes her feel uncomfortable, she "poofs" into a giant red panda.

From BBC ● Mar. 7, 2022

They came nowhere close, the white bolts smashing into the pavement, sending up poofs of dust.

From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner

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