puffy

American  

[puhf-ee] / ˈpʌf i /

adjective

puffier, puffiest

1. gusty.

2. short-winded; panting.

3. inflated, distended, or swollen.

4. fat; plump.

5. conceited.

6. bombastic.

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puffy British  

/ ˈpʌfɪ /

adjective

1. short of breath

2. swollen or bloated

   a puffy face

3. pompous or conceited

4. blowing in gusts

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Other Word Forms

• puffily
  adverb
• puffiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of puffy

First recorded in 1590–1600; puff + -y ¹

Explanation

Puffy things are swollen or soft, like a big, puffy hairdo or your favorite puffy winter coat that's stuffed full of feathers. Your eyes might be puffy after a really sad movie, and your cat may look puffy when she's hissing at the dog. Big, round clouds are puffy, and so are the white seed heads of dandelions — the puffy balls you can blow on and make a wish. Wind is puffy too, when it blows in little gusts. This is the earliest meaning of puffy, from puff and its Old English root pyffan, "to blow with the mouth."

Example Sentences

Puffy planets are often composed of gases, ice, or other lighter materials that make them overall less dense than any planet in the solar system.

From Science Daily • Jun. 5, 2024

Bad Boy Records was established with Arista Records in 1993 when the Combs Global mogul still went by Puff Daddy and Puffy.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 6, 2023

Puffy, cast-aluminum daisies and attenuated balloon animals creep along the floor, their color drained into cold gray.

From New York Times • Aug. 3, 2023

Another user by the name of Captain Puffy - Cara, tweeted: "Rest in peace Technoblade, He always treated me with pure kindness and never excluded me from anything. He couldn't of been a kinder person!"

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2022

Puffy white clouds floated overhead in a blue sky.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer