buffer definition | Dictionary.com

buff⋅er

1 [buhf-er]

–noun

1.	an apparatus at the end of a railroad car, railroad track, etc., for absorbing shock during coupling, collisions, etc.

2.	any device, material, or apparatus used as a shield, cushion, or bumper, esp. on machinery.

3.	any intermediate or intervening shield or device reducing the danger of interaction between two machines, chemicals, electronic components, etc.

4.	a person or thing that shields and protects against annoyance, harm, hostile forces, etc., or that lessens the impact of a shock or reversal.

5.	any reserve moneys, negotiable securities, legal procedures, etc., that protect a person, organization, or country against financial ruin.

6.	buffer state.

7.	Ecology. an animal population that becomes the prey of a predator that usually feeds on a different species.

8.	Computers. a storage device for temporarily holding data until the computer is ready to receive or process the data, as when a receiving unit has an operating speed lower than that of the unit feeding data to it.

9.	Electronics. a circuit with a single output activated by one or more of several inputs.

10.

Chemistry.

a.	any substance or mixture of compounds that, added to a solution, is capable of neutralizing both acids and bases without appreciably changing the original acidity or alkalinity of the solution.

b.	Also called buffer solution. a solution containing such a substance.

–verb (used with object)

11.	Chemistry. to treat with a buffer.

12.	to cushion, shield, or protect.

13.	to lessen the adverse effect of; ease: The drug buffered his pain.

Origin:
1825–35; buff ² + -er ¹

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buff⋅er

2 [buhf-er]

–noun

1.	a device for polishing or buffing, as a buff stick or buff wheel.

2.	a worker who uses such a device.

Origin:
1850–55; buff ¹ + -er ¹

buff⋅er

3 [buhf-er]

–noun British Slang.

1.	a foolish or incompetent person.

2.	a fellow; man.

3.	a chief boatswain's mate in the British navy.

Origin:
1680–90; orig. uncert.

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	a soft, thick, light-yellow leather with a napped surface, originally made from buffalo skin but later also from other skins, used for making belts, pouches, etc.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.

6.	Also called buffcoat. a thick, short coat of buffalo leather, worn esp. 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.

–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, esp. 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 < MF < LL būfalus; see buffalo; (def. 4) orig. 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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To buffer

buff¹ (bŭf)

A soft, thick, undyed leather made chiefly from the skins of buffalo, elk, or oxen.
A military uniform coat made of such leather.
A pale, light, or moderate yellowish pink to yellow, including moderate orange-yellow to light yellowish brown.
Informal Bare skin: swimming in the buff.
A piece of soft material, such as velvet or leather, often mounted on a block and used for polishing.

adj.

Made or formed of buff: a buff jacket.
Of the color buff.
buff·er, buff·est Slang Having good muscle tone; physically fit and trim: buff athletes lifting weights at the gym.

tr.v. buffed, buff·ing, buffs

To polish or shine with a piece of soft material.
To soften the surface of (leather) by raising a nap.
To make the color of buff.

[From obsolete buffle, buffalo, from French buffle, from Late Latin būfalus; see buffalo.]

buff·er¹ (bŭf'ər)

One that buffs, especially a piece of soft leather or cloth used to shine or polish.
A buffing wheel.

buff·er² (bŭf'ər)

Something that lessens or absorbs the shock of an impact.
One that protects by intercepting or moderating adverse pressures or influences: "A sense of humor . . . may have served as a buffer against the . . . shocks of disappointment" (James Russell Lowell).
Something that separates potentially antagonistic entities, as an area between two rival powers that serves to lessen the danger of conflict.
Chemistry A substance that minimizes change in the acidity of a solution when an acid or base is added to the solution.
Computer Science A device or area used to store data temporarily.

tr.v. buff·ered, buff·er·ing, buff·ers

To act as a buffer for or between.
Chemistry To treat (a solution) with a buffer.
Computer Science To hold or collect (data) in a buffer.

[Probably from obsolete buff, to make a sound like a soft body being hit, of imitative origin.]

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

Buffer

Buff"er\ (b[u^]f"[~e]r), n. [Prop a striker. See Buffet a blow.]

1. (Mech.) (a) An elastic apparatus or fender, for deadening the jar caused by the collision of bodies; as, a buffer at the end of a railroad car. (b) A pad or cushion forming the end of a fender, which receives the blow; -- sometimes called buffing apparatus.

2. One who polishes with a buff.

3. A wheel for buffing; a buff.

4. A good-humored, slow-witted fellow; -- usually said of an elderly man. [Colloq.] --Dickens.

Language Translation for : buffer

Spanish: amortiguador,

German: der Stoßdämpfer,

Japanese: 緩衝器

More Translations »

buffer

In chemistry, the components of a solution that can neutralize either an acid or a base and thus maintain a constant pH.

Note: Buffers are often used in medications designed to decrease acidity in the stomach.

buffer

1835, from obsolete verb buff "make a dull sound when struck," from O.Fr. buffe "a blow;" hence "something that absorbs a blow."

Main Entry: ¹buff·er
Pronunciation: 'b&f-&r
Function: noun
1 : a substance or mixture of substances (as bicarbonates andsome proteins in biological fluids) that in solution tends to stabilize the hydrogen-ion concentration by neutralizing within limits both acids and bases
2 : BUFFER SOLUTION

Main Entry: ²buffer
Function: transitive verb
: to treat (as a solution or its acidity) with a buffer; also : to prepare (aspirin) with anantacid

buffer buff·er (bŭf'ər)
n.
A substance that minimizes change in the acidity of a solution when an acid or base is added to the solution. v. buff·ered, buff·er·ing, buff·ers
To treat a solution with a buffer.

buffer (bŭf'ər) Pronunciation Key

Chemistry A substance that prevents change in the acidity of a solution when an acid or base is added to the solution or when the solution is diluted. Buffers are used to make solutions of known pH, especially for instrument calibration purposes. Natural buffers also exist in living organisms, where biochemical reactions are very sensitive to changes in pH.
Computer Science A device or an area of a computer that temporarily stores data that is being transferred between two machines that process data at different rates, such as a computer and a printer.

buffer
1. An area of memory used for storing messages. Typically, a buffer will have other attributes such as an input pointer (where new data will be written into the buffer), and output pointer (where the next item will be read from) and/or a count of the space used or free. Buffers are used to decouple processes so that the reader and writer may operate at different speeds or on different sized blocks of data.
There are many different algorithms for using buffers, e.g. first-in first-out (FIFO or shelf), last-in first-out (LIFO or stack), double buffering (allowing one buffer to be read while the other is being written), cyclic buffer (reading or writing past the end wraps around to the beginning).
2. An electronic device to provide compatibility between two signals, e.g. changing voltage levels or current capability.

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