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buff

 [buhf]   Example Sentences Origin

buff

1   [buhf]
noun
1.
a soft, thick, light-yellow leather with a napped surface, originally made from buffalo skin but later also from other skins, used for making belts, pouches, etc.
2.
a brownish-yellow color; tan.
3.
a buff stick or buff wheel.
4.
a devotee or well-informed student of some activity or subject: Civil War buffs avidly read the new biography of Grant.
5.
Informal. the bare skin: in the buff.
EXPAND
6.
Also called buffcoat. a thick, short coat of buffalo leather, worn especially by English soldiers and American colonists in the 17th century.
7.
Informal. a buffalo.
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adjective
8.
having the color of buff.
9.
made of buff leather.
10.
Slang. physically attractive; muscular.

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chat, to converse
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verb (used with object)
11.
to clean or polish (metal) or give a grainless finish of high luster to (plated surfaces) with or as if with a buff stick or buff wheel.
12.
to polish or shine, especially with a buffer: to buff shoes.
13.
to dye or stain in a buff color.
Origin:
1545–55; 1900–05 for def. 4; earlier buffe wild ox, back formation from buffle < Middle French < Late Latin būfalus; see buffalo; (def. 4) originally a person enthusiastic about firefighting and firefighters, allegedly after the buff uniforms once worn by volunteer firefighters in New York City

Related forms
buff·a·bil·i·ty, noun
buff·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms
10. burnish, shine.

Example Sentences
  • Soft, sandy buff with a long pointed tail bordered with white.
  • Buff away the dried cleanser by moving your fingers in a gentle circular motion.
  • Grizzled gray or orangish gray above, with buff underparts.
EXPAND
Dictionary.com Unabridged

buff

2   [buhf]
verb (used with object)
1.
to reduce or deaden the force of; act as a buffer.
noun
2.
Chiefly British Dialect. a blow; slap.
Origin:
1375–1425; late Middle English buffe, back formation from buffet1

buff

3   [buhf]
noun
buffe.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To Buff
Collins
World English Dictionary
buff1 (bʌf)
 
—n
1.  a.  a soft thick flexible undyed leather made chiefly from the skins of buffalo, oxen, and elk
 b.  (as modifier): a buff coat
2.  a.  a dull yellow or yellowish-brown colour
 b.  (as adjective): buff paint
3.  Also called: buffer
 a.  a cloth or pad of material used for polishing an object
 b.  a flexible disc or wheel impregnated with a fine abrasive for polishing metals, etc, with a power tool
4.  informal one's bare skin (esp in the phrase in the buff)
 
—vb
5.  to clean or polish (a metal, floor, shoes, etc) with a buff
6.  to remove the grain surface of (a leather)
 
—adj
7.  informal (US) in a condition of high physical fitness and body tone, maintained by regular exercise
 
[C16: from Old French buffle, from Old Italian bufalo, from Late Latin būfalusbuffalo]

buff2 (bʌf)
 
—vb
1.  (tr) to deaden the force of
 
—n
2.  archaic a blow or buffet (now only in the phrase blind man's buff)
 
[C15: back formation from buffet²]

buff3 (bʌf)
 
—n
informal an expert on or devotee of a given subject: a cheese buff
 
[C20: originally US: an enthusiastic fire watcher, from the buff-coloured uniforms worn by volunteer firemen in New York City]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

buff
1570s, buffe leather, from M.Fr. buffle "buffalo" (15c., via It. from L. bufalus; see see buffalo). The color term comes from the hue of buffalo hides (later ox hides); association of "hide" and "skin" led c.1600 to in the buff, and use of buff or suede to polish metal led
EXPAND
to sense of verb "to polish with a buff" (1885). Related: Buffed; buffing. Buff-colored uniforms of N.Y.C. volunteer firefighters since 1820s led to meaning "enthusiast" (1903).
"The Buffs are men and boys whose love of fires, fire-fighting and firemen is a predominant characteristic." [N.Y. "Sun," Feb. 4, 1903]
Adj. meaning "well-built, hunky" is from 1980s, from sense "polish, make attractive."
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

buff(ed) definition

[bəft]
  1. mod.
    strong; muscular. : He has such buff legs! Does he have a job or does he just work out?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

buff

see in the buff.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
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