buffers - Definitions from Dictionary.com

3 results for: buffers

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

buff·er¹ Audio Help (bŭf'ər) Pronunciation Key
n.

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

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
buffers

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

buff·er² Audio Help (bŭf'ər) Pronunciation Key
n.

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.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

buffer Audio Help (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.