puff
Part of speech: noun
verb
Morphological type: simple
Topics: biology
genetics
medicine
natural-sciences
sciences
Etymology: From Middle English puff, puf, from Old English pyf (“a blast of wind, puff”), from Proto-West Germanic *puf(f)- (“to blow, puff”), of imitative origin. Cognate with Dutch puf (“puff, wind, fart”), Middle Low German puf, pof (“puff”).
Inflected forms:
form: puffs
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: puffs
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: puffing
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: puffed
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: puffed
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.
pos: noun
tags: countable
gloss: The ability to breathe easily while exerting oneself.
pos: noun
tags: slang
uncountable
examples: out of puff
gloss: A small quantity of gas or smoke in the air.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: puff of smoke
gloss: A sudden but small gust of wind, smoke, etc.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: to every puff of wind a slave
"The wind we had was only an early puff! You'll see we shall have our full allowance!"
gloss: An act of inhaling smoke from a cigarette, cigar or pipe.
pos: noun
tags: countable
informal
examples: When I went to bed that night I found that I could not get to sleep. At five o'clock I got up and took a hot bath. I climbed back into bed and lighted one of the Chinese-made "Great Wall" cigars my hosts had thoughtfully provided, and sat puffing on the cigar and making notes about the events of the momentous week.
gloss: The drug cannabis.
pos: noun
tags: slang
uncountable
gloss: A flamboyant or alluring statement of praise.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: […] though I care not one straw for the personal puffs of which I myself am so often the subject […]
[…] we critics were not his fellow-guests, but simply deadheads whose business it was to "dress the house" and write puffs.
gloss: A portion of fabric gathered up so as to be left full in the middle.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: a sleeve with a puff at the shoulder
gloss: A light cake filled with cream, cream cheese, etc.
pos: noun
tags: countable
examples: cream puff
gloss: A puffball.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
examples: Bozzacchio, an acorne. Also a puffe or mushrump full of dust.
gloss: A powder puff.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: A puffer, one who is employed by the owner or seller of goods sold at auction to bid up the price; an act or scam of that type.
pos: noun
tags: countable
dated
slang
uncountable
examples: Is nothing to be said in praise of the "Emporiums" and "Repositories" and "Divans," which formerly were mere insignificant tailors', toymen's, and tobacconists' shops? Is the transition from the barber's pole to the revolving bust of the perruquier, nothing? — the leap from the bare counter-traversed shop to the carpeted and mirrored saloon of trade, nothing? Are they not, one and all, practical puffs, intended to invest commerce with elegance, and to throw a halo round extravagance?
Here the duke is made the vehicle of the tailor's advertisement, and the prelusive compliments, ostensibly meant for his grace, merge into a covert recommendation of the coat. Several specimens might be given of this species of puff, which is to be met with in almost every paper, and is a favourite form with booksellers, professional men, &c.
He was the eighteenth century king of spin, or, in the language of the day, the "prince of puff".
gloss: A region of a chromosome exhibiting a local increase in diameter.
pos: noun
tags: countable
uncountable
gloss: Life.
pos: noun
tags: UK
countable
dated
slang
uncountable
examples: Isn't this the chance of a lifetime? Have either of you ever made a couple of quids at once in your puff before—pinching goods from the back of delivery vans and smooching lead off empty houses?
Did you ever in your puff see such a perfect perisher?
gloss: Synonym of poof: a gay man; especially one who is effeminate.
pos: noun
tags: Northern-England
countable
derogatory
slang
uncountable
gloss: To emit smoke, gas, etc., in puffs.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: Still on the down line, the engine puffed away to the South, and in a few moments had disappeared in the darkness!
gloss: To pant.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: By and by comes the ass back again, Puffing and Blowing, from the Chase.
Puffing and panting, we plodded on until within about a mile of the harbor we came upon a sight that brought us all up standing.
gloss: To advertise.
pos: verb
tags: archaic
transitive
gloss: To blow as an expression of scorn.
pos: verb
examples: It is really to defy Heaven to puff at damnation.
gloss: To swell with air; to be dilated or inflated.
pos: verb
examples: 'tis easy for a man to have a great opinion of his own knowledge , and be puff'd up by it
gloss: To breathe in a swelling, inflated, or pompous manner; hence, to assume importance.
pos: verb
examples: Then came brave Glory puffing by.
gloss: To drive with a puff, or with puffs.
pos: verb
examples: The clearing north will puff the clouds away.
gloss: To repel with words; to blow at contemptuously.
pos: verb
examples: I puff the prostitute away.
gloss: To cause to swell or dilate; to inflate.
pos: verb
examples: a bladder puffed with air
the sea puffed up with winds
gloss: To inflate with pride, flattery, self-esteem, etc.; often with up.
pos: verb
examples: puffed up with military success
gloss: To praise with exaggeration; to flatter; to call public attention to by praises; to praise unduly.
pos: verb
examples: puffed with wonderful skill
Derived words: airpuff
air puff test
cheese puff
cheesy puff
crab puff
cream puff
curry puff
fluff
huff and puff
Hufflepuff
in a puff of smoke
Jigglypuff
love in a puff
nun's puff
piffle
pizza puff
powder puff
puff adder
puff and darts
puffback
puffbird
puff-box
puffcorn
puffer
puffery
puff-fish
puffhead
puffin
puffing
puff-leg
puffleg
puff-legged
puffless
pufflet
puff paste
puff pastry
puff piece
puff pipe
puff-puff
puff, puff, pass
puffy
sip and puff
super-puff
windpuff
apuff
bepuff
depuff
outpuff
puffable
puffed
puffing Billy
puffingly
puffing pig
puff one's chest
puff out
puff the magic dragon
puff up
puft
repuff
unpuff
unpuffed
unpuffing
Translations: