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Definition of puffy - 2 dictionary results

puff⋅y

[puhf-ee]
–adjective, puff⋅i⋅er, puff⋅i⋅est.
1. gusty.
2. short-winded; panting.
3. inflated, distended, or swollen.
4. fat; plump.
5. conceited.
6. bombastic.

Origin:
1590–1600; puff + -y 1


puff⋅i⋅ly, adverb
puff⋅i⋅ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To puffy
puff   (pŭf)   
n.  
    1. A short forceful exhalation of breath.

    2. A short sudden gust of wind.

    3. A brief sudden emission of air, vapor, or smoke.

    4. A short sibilant sound produced by a puff.

    5. An approving or flattering recommendation.

    6. A piece of writing, as on the jacket of a book, containing often exaggerated praise, used for promotional purposes.

  1. An amount of vapor, smoke, or similar material released in a puff.

  2. An act of drawing in and expelling the breath, as in smoking tobacco.

  3. A swelling or rounded protuberance.

  4. Puff pastry.

  5. A light soft pad for applying powder or lotion.

  6. A gathered, protruding portion of fabric.

  7. A light padded bed covering.

    1. An approving or flattering recommendation.

    2. A piece of writing, as on the jacket of a book, containing often exaggerated praise, used for promotional purposes.

  8. Genetics A localized region of swelling in certain chromosomes indicating the active synthesis of RNA.

v.   puffed, puff·ing, puffs

v.   intr.
  1. To blow in puffs.

  2. To come forth in puffs: steam puffing from an engine.

  3. To breathe forcefully and rapidly: huffed and puffed up the stairs.

  4. To emit puffs.

  5. To take puffs on smoking material: puffing on a cigar.

  6. To swell or seem to swell, as with pride or air. Often used with up: He puffed up and glared at the importuning questioner.

v.   tr.
  1. To emit or give forth in puffs.

  2. To impel with puffs.

  3. To smoke (a cigar, for example).

  4. To inflate or distend.

  5. To fill with pride or conceit.

  6. To publicize with often exaggerated praise: publishers who puff their new books.


[From Middle English puffen, to puff, from Old English pyffan, perhaps of imitative origin.]
puff'i·ly adv., puff'i·ness n., puff'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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