[buhf-er] 
| 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.
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| 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. |
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.
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