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puffer

[ puhf-er ]
/ ˈpʌf ər /
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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.

RELATED WORDS

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

Nearby words

puffball, puffbird, puffed, puffed up, puffed-up, puffer, puffery, puffin, puffin crossing, puffy, pug

Origin of puffer

First recorded in 1620–30; puff + -er1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

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British Dictionary definitions for puffer

puffer

/ (ˈpʌfə) /

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

puffer

n.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper