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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a soft, thick, light-yellow leather with a napped surface, originally made from buffalo skin but later also from other skins, used for making belts, pouches, etc.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.
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.
adjective
8.
having the color of buff.
9.
made of buff leather.
10.
Slang. physically attractive; muscular.
00:10
Buff
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is subtilize. Does it mean:
| to run away hurriedly; flee. |
| to introduce subtleties into or argue subtly about. |
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
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.
10. burnish, shine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To buff
Collins
World English Dictionary
buff1 (bʌf) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —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 būfalus | |
| 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 | |
| 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
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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
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."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
buff(ed) definition[bəft]
|
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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American Heritage
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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Example sentences
Soft, sandy buff with a long pointed tail bordered with white.
They can make actors buff by working out for a few months before filming.
The stands of pine trees are dark green, the prairies are dark buff.
Others label him a dreamer, or worse, a pyramid buff with loony ideas.
Idioms & Phrases
Nearby Words
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