puffer

[puhf-er]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR puffer ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that puffs.

Also called blowfish, globefish. any of various fishes of the family Tetraodontidae, capable of inflating the body with water or air until it resembles a globe, the spines in the skin becoming erected: several species contain the potent nerve poison tetrodotoxin.

Origin of puffer

First recorded in 1620–30; puff + -er¹

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

Related Words for puffer

lackey, charmer, sycophant, toady, booster, bootlicker, backscratcher, flunkey, cajoler

Examples from the Web for puffer

Contemporary Examples of puffer

Asked what three items he still had to have in his suitcase, Zee said: “The boots, the puffer jacket, and a pair of solid jeans.”
Joe Zee Loves Utah’s Messy Look
Nicole LaPorte
January 25, 2011

Historical Examples of puffer

I hope you will be a good boy and give satisfaction to Professor Puffer.
Bernard Brooks' Adventures
Horatio Alger, Jr.
There were ten passengers besides Professor Puffer and himself.
Bernard Brooks' Adventures
Horatio Alger, Jr.
A little reflection, however, allayed the fears of Professor Puffer.
Bernard Brooks' Adventures
Horatio Alger, Jr.
Bernard opened it, and his glance rested on Professor Puffer.
Bernard Brooks' Adventures
Horatio Alger, Jr.
"No," answered Puffer, who feared that those reasons might compromise him.
Bernard Brooks' Adventures
Horatio Alger, Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for puffer

puffer

noun

a person or thing that puffs

Also called: globefish any marine plectognath fish of the family Tetraodontidae, having an elongated spiny body that can be inflated to form a globe

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 puffer

1620s, agent noun from puff (v.). As "one who praises or extols," from 1736. As a type of fish that inflates itself in defense, from 1814.