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bluff - 11 dictionary results
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Bluff Definition
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bluff

1  [bluhf] adjective, -er, -est, noun
Use bluff in a Sentence
–adjective
1. good-naturedly direct, blunt, or frank; heartily outspoken: a big, bluff, generous man.
2. presenting a bold and nearly perpendicular front, as a coastline: a bluff, precipitous headland.
3. Nautical. (of the bow of a vessel) having a full, blunt form.
–noun
4. a cliff, headland, or hill with a broad, steep face.
5. North Dakota, Wisconsin, and the Canadian Prairie Provinces. a clump or grove of trees on a prairie or other generally treeless area.
Origin:
1620–30; perh. < MLG blaff smooth, even, or < MD blaf broad, flat

Related forms:
bluffly, adverb
bluffness, noun

Synonyms:
1. forthright, open, honest; rough, crude. See blunt. 2. abrupt, steep.

Antonyms:
1. subtle.

bluff

2  [bluhf]
–verb (used with object)
1. to mislead by a display of strength, self-confidence, or the like: He bluffed me into believing that he was a doctor.
2. to gain by bluffing: He bluffed his way into the job.
3. Poker. to deceive by a show of confidence in the strength of one's cards.
–verb (used without object)
4. to mislead someone by presenting a bold, strong, or self-confident front: That open face makes it impossible for him to bluff.
–noun
5. an act or instance or the practice of bluffing: Her pathetic story was all a bluff to get money from us. His assertive manner is mostly bluff.
6. a person who bluffs; bluffer: That big bluff doesn't have a nickel to his name.
—Idiom
7. call someone's bluff, to expose a person's deception; challenge someone to carry out a threat: He always said he would quit, so we finally called his bluff.
Origin:
1665–75; perh. < LG bluffen to bluster, frighten; akin to MD bluffen to make a trick at cards

Related forms:
bluff⋅a⋅ble, adjective
bluffer, noun

Synonyms:
1. deceive, fool, dupe, delude, hoodwink.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To bluff
bluff 1   (blŭf)   
v.   bluffed, bluff·ing, bluffs

v.   tr.
  1. To mislead or deceive.
  2. To impress, deter, or intimidate by a false display of confidence.
  3. Games To try to mislead (opponents) in a card game by heavy betting on a poor hand or by little or no betting on a good one.
v.   intr.
To engage in a false display of strength or confidence.
n.  
  1. The act or practice of bluffing.
  2. One that bluffs.

[Probably from Dutch bluffen, from Low German.]
bluff'a·ble adj., bluff'er n.
bluff 2   (blŭf)   
n.  A steep headland, promontory, riverbank, or cliff.
adj.   bluff·er, bluff·est
  1. Rough and blunt but not unkind in manner. See Synonyms at gruff.
  2. Having a broad, steep front.

[Probably from obsolete Dutch blaf or Middle Low German blaff, broad.]
bluff'ly adv., bluff'ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Bluff

Bluff\, a. [Cf. OD. blaf flat, broad, blaffaert one with a broad face, also, a boaster; or G. verbl["u]ffen to confuse, LG. bluffen to frighten; to unknown origin.]

1. Having a broad, flattened front; as, the bluff bows of a ship. "Bluff visages." --Irving.

2. Rising steeply with a flat or rounded front. "A bluff or bold shore." --Falconer.

Its banks, if not really steep, had a bluff and precipitous aspect. --Judd.

3. Surly; churlish; gruff; rough.

4. Abrupt; roughly frank; unceremonious; blunt; brusque; as, a bluff answer; a bluff manner of talking; a bluff sea captain. "Bluff King Hal." --Sir W. Scott.

There is indeed a bluff pertinacity which is a proper defense in a moment of surprise. --I. Taylor.

Bluff

Bluff\, n. 1. A high, steep bank, as by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face.

Beach, bluff, and wave, adieu. --Whittier.

2. An act of bluffing; an expression of self-confidence for the purpose of intimidation; braggadocio; as, that is only bluff, or a bluff.

3. A game at cards; poker. [U.S.] --Bartlett.

Bluff

Bluff\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bluffed; p. pr. & vb. n. Bluffing.]

1. (Poker) To deter (an opponent) from taking the risk of betting on his hand of cards, as the bluffer does by betting heavily on his own hand although it may be of less value. [U. S.]

2. To frighten or deter from accomplishing a purpose by making a show of confidence in one's strength or resources; as, he bluffed me off. [Colloq.]

Bluff

Bluff\, v. i. To act as in the game of bluff.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : bluff
Spanish: directo,
German: gutmütig,
Japanese: ぶっきら棒な
More Translations »

bluff  (v.)
1839, Amer.Eng., poker term, perhaps from Du. bluffen "to brag, boast," or verbluffen "to baffle, mislead." An identical word meant "blindfold, hoodwink" in 1674, but the sense evolution and connection are unclear. OED calls it, "one of the numerous cant terms ... which arose between the Restoration and the reign of Queen Anne."

bluff  (n)
1687, from Du. blaf "flat, broad," apparently a North Sea nautical term for ships with flat vertical bows, later extended to landscape features.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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bluff

see call someone's bluff.

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