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buff
1[buhf]
noun
a soft, thick, light-yellow leather with a napped surface, originally made from buffalo skin but later also from other skins, used for making belts, pouches, etc.
a brownish-yellow color; tan.
a buff stick or buff wheel.
a devotee or well-informed student of some activity or subject.
Civil War buffs avidly read the new biography of Grant.
Informal.the bare skin, or the state of being nude.
swimming in the buff;
stripped to his buff.
Also called buffcoat.a thick, short coat of buffalo leather, worn especially by English soldiers and American colonists in the 17th century.
Informal.a buffalo.
adjective
having the color of buff.
made of buff leather.
Slang.physically attractive; muscular.
Synonyms:
verb (used with object)
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.
to polish or shine, especially with a buffer.
to buff shoes.
to dye or stain in a buff color.
buff
2[buhf]
verb (used with object)
(in a video game) to enhance (player characters' attributes or abilities) with a spell, skill, or item.
If you buff your party with a skill that increases movement speed, make sure everyone is in the area of effect—you wouldn’t want to leave your healer in the dust!
to reduce or deaden the force of; act as a buffer.
noun
(in a video game) a category of spell, skill, or item that enhances player characters' attributes or abilities.
Your build is specific to your job class, so a DPS Shaman and a DPS Druid might bring different buffs.
Chiefly British Dialect.a blow; slap.
buff
1/ ʌ /
noun
a soft thick flexible undyed leather made chiefly from the skins of buffalo, oxen, and elk
( as modifier )
a buff coat
a dull yellow or yellowish-brown colour
( as adjective )
buff paint
Also called: buffer.
a cloth or pad of material used for polishing an object
a flexible disc or wheel impregnated with a fine abrasive for polishing metals, etc, with a power tool
informalone's bare skin (esp in the phrase in the buff )
verb
to clean or polish (a metal, floor, shoes, etc) with a buff
to remove the grain surface of (a leather)
buff
2/ ʌ /
verb
(tr) to deaden the force of
noun
archaica blow or buffet (now only in the phrase blind man's buff )
buff
3/ ʌ /
noun
informalan expert on or devotee of a given subject
a cheese buff
Other Word Forms
- buffability noun
- buffable adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of buff1
Word History and Origins
Origin of buff1
Origin of buff2
Origin of buff3
Idioms and Phrases
Example Sentences
Visiting Hadrian's Wall is next on the agenda for history buff Paul; and he's looking forward to one of his daughters graduating later this year.
Hopkins kept busy part of the time with his job cleaning Alcatraz, sweeping the floors and buffing them "until they shined", he said.
That doesn’t mean he finds it easily, because the rough edges of this story could never be buffed out into a biopic like “Bohemian Rhapsody” or an hour-long episode of VH1’s “Behind the Music.”
Like any good horror buff, Sandberg knows that the best examples need only a few well-honed elements to work: a group of young people, the aforementioned scary cabin and, in this case, clowns.
Many filmmakers who are movie buffs have been lovers of movies since they were kids.
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When To Use
Buff originally refers to light-yellow leather made from buffalo skins. It has taken on many slang terms, though, including:
- being naked
- shining up something
- being muscular and fit
- being particularly knowledgeable about something
- and, in gaming lingo, strengthening a player's stats.
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