tuft

[ tuhft ]

/ tʌft /

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See synonyms for: tuft / tufted on Thesaurus.com

noun

a bunch or cluster of small, usually soft and flexible parts, as feathers or hairs, attached or fixed closely together at the base and loose at the upper ends.

a cluster of short, fluffy threads, used to decorate cloth, as for a bedspread, robe, bath mat, or window curtain.

a cluster of cut threads, used as a decorative finish attached to the tying or holding threads of mattresses, quilts, upholstery, etc.

a covered or finished button designed for similar use.

a cluster of short-stalked flowers, leaves, etc., growing from a common point.

a small clump of bushes, trees, etc.

a gold tassel on the cap formerly worn at English universities by titled undergraduates.

a titled undergraduate at an English university.

verb (used with object)

to furnish or decorate with a tuft or tufts.

to arrange in a tuft or tufts.

Upholstery. to draw together (a cushion or the like) by passing a thread through at regular intervals, the depressions thus produced being usually ornamented with tufts or buttons.

verb (used without object)

to form into or grow in a tuft or tufts.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of tuft

First recorded in1350–1400; Middle English, variant of toft(e), from Middle French tofe, toffe, of uncertain origin; English excrescent t as in against

OTHER WORDS FROM tuft

tufter, noun

Words nearby tuft

Tuesdays, TUF, tufa, tuff, tuffet, tuft, tufted, tufted deer, tufted duck, tufted titmouse, tufting

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tuft in a sentence

Upon closer inspection, I understood they were seeds, hundreds of them, attached to tufts of silky hair.
How Studying Witchcraft Changed My Relationship with the Outdoors|abarronian|October 31, 2021|Outside Online
The scientists first tried to pull tufts of hair off the spider legs using tweezers.
A spider’s feet hold a hairy, sticky secret|Stephen Ornes|October 11, 2021|Science News For Students
The violence in Levenson’s tidy glass pieces, which also contain razor blades and tufts of sharp wire, is latent.
In the galleries: A painful, political take on the art of cruel shoes|Mark Jenkins|April 9, 2021|Washington Post
Walking with snowshoes on tufts of powder subtly alters your gait while adding new weight to each step, which makes for a grueling lower body workout.
He escaped the cacophony by strapping on snowshoes and slipping into the Great North Woods|Miles Howard|January 15, 2021|Washington Post

Grab a tuft of green needles, rip or chop them into small pieces, and drop them into some very hot water.
13 edible plants you can still find in the winter|By Tim MacWelch/Outdoor Life|December 1, 2020|Popular-Science
Al Pacino comes dressed in black and gray, wearing multiple bracelets and an unkempt tuft of hair poking up from his scalp.
Al Pacino Does What He Wants to Do: 'The Humbling,' Scorsese, and That 'Scarface' Remake|Alex Suskind|September 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He thrust his tiny tuft of beard between his teeth—a trick he had when perplexed or thoughtful.
St. Martin's Summer|Rafael Sabatini
She has a grey body, plump as a sack of meal, with little white speckles, a funny neck and such a small head with a tuft on top.
Seven O'Clock Stories|Robert Gordon Anderson
In this way it could be made to smoke, and finally set fire to a tuft of dried moss, from which he might get a flame for cooking.
The Wonder Book of Knowledge|Various
With the soft tuft of camel hair he blurred against the peak pale, luminous vapor of new cloud.
The Dragon Painter|Mary McNeil Fenollosa
The tail is on a level with the back, and gracefully tapers like a drum-stick, to the tuft on the end.
Domestic Animals|Richard L. Allen

British Dictionary definitions for tuft

tuft

/ (tʌft) /

noun

a bunch of feathers, grass, hair, etc, held together at the base

a cluster of threads drawn tightly through upholstery, a mattress, a quilt, etc, to secure and strengthen the padding

a small clump of trees or bushes

(formerly) a gold tassel on the cap worn by titled undergraduates at English universities

a person entitled to wear such a tassel

verb

(tr) to provide or decorate with a tuft or tufts

to form or be formed into tufts

to secure and strengthen (a mattress, quilt, etc) with tufts

Derived forms of tuft

tufter, nountufty, adjective

Word Origin for tuft

C14: perhaps from Old French tufe, of Germanic origin; compare top 1

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

tuft

Origin of tuft

OTHER WORDS FROM tuft

Words nearby tuft

Words related to tuft

How to use tuft in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tuft

Derived forms of tuft

Word Origin for tuft