English
buff
see also: BUFF, Buff
Pronunciation Noun

buff

  1. Undyed leather from the skin of buffalo or similar animals.
    • circa 1589 William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors, Act IV, Scene 2,
      […] he’s in a a suit of buff […]
  2. A tool, often one covered with buff leather, used for polishing.
  3. A brownish yellow colour.
     
    • 1693, John Dryden (translator), The Satires (Juvenal) of Juvenal Translated into English Verse, London: Jacob Tonson, Satire 10, lines 307-308, p. 203,
      […] a Visage rough,
      Deform’d, Unfeatur’d, and a Skin of Buff.
    • 1929, Dashiell Hammett, Red Harvest, Chapter 24,
      His face changed from tan to buff.
  4. A military coat made of buff leather.
    • circa 1594 William Shakespeare, The Comedy of Errors, [Act IV, scene ii]:
      A diuell in an euerlaſting garment hath him ; / On whoſe hard heart is button’d vp with ſteele : / A Feind, a Fairie, pittileſſe and ruffe : / A Wolfe, nay worſe, a fellow all in buffe […]
  5. (informal) A person who is very interested in a particular subject; an enthusiast.
    He’s a real history buff. He knows everything there is to know about the civil war.
  6. (video games, RPG) An effect that makes a character or item stronger.
    I just picked up an epic damage buff! Let's go gank the other team!
  7. (rail transport) Compressive coupler force that occurs during a slack bunched condition.
  8. (colloquial) The bare skin.
    to strip to the buff
    • 1857, Thomas Wright (antiquarian), Dictionary of Obsolete and Provincial English, London: Henry G. Bohn, p. 265,
      To be in buff, is equivalent to being naked.
  9. The greyish viscid substance constituting the buffy coat.
  10. A substance used to dilute (street) drugs in order to increase profits.
    • 2014, “Aldergrove’s 856 gang busted, $400,000 in drugs seized,” CBC News, 30 July, 2014,
      Police say this 20 ton hydraulic jack was used to press mixtures of cocaine and “buff” into brick.
Synonyms Antonyms Translations Translations
  • French: chamois
  • Spanish: color del ante
Adjective

buff (comparative buffer, superlative buffest)

  1. Of the color of buff leather, a brownish yellow.
  2. (bodybuilding) Unusually muscular. (also buffed or buffed out)
    The bouncer was a big, buff dude with tattoos, a shaved head, and a serious scowl.
    • 1994, Blurred Boundaries: Questions of Meaning in Contemporary Culture, page 155:
      The appearance of logic often derives from faulty syllogisms such as Sgt. Koon's conclusion that King was an ex-con because he was "buffed out" (heavily muscled). The thinking is: "ex-cons are often buffed out; this man is buffed out; therefore, this man is an ex-con."
  3. (slang) Physically attractive.
Translations Translations
  • Portuguese: bombado
  • Spanish: papiado
Verb

buff (buffs, present participle buffing; past and past participle buffed)

  1. To polish and make shiny by rubbing.
    He was already buffing the car's hubs.
  2. (video games, RPG) To make a character or an item stronger.
    The enchanter buffed the paladin to prepare him to fight the dragon.
    I noticed that the pistols were buffed in the update.
  3. (medical slang) To modify a medical chart, especially in a dishonest manner.
Synonyms Antonyms Translations
  • German: polieren
  • Russian: полирова́ть
Verb

buff (buffs, present participle buffing; past and past participle buffed)

  1. To strike.
Noun

buff (plural buffs)

  1. (obsolete) A buffet; a blow.
    • Nathless so sore a buff to him it lent / That made him reel.
Noun

buff

  1. (informal) A buffalo, or the meat of a buffalo.
    • 2006, Bradley Mayhew, ‎Joe Bindloss, ‎Stan Armington, Nepal
      […] diced buff (buffalo) meat, usually heavily spiced […]
BUFF
Noun

buff (plural buffs)

  1. (slang, US, Air Force) Acronym of big ugly fat fellow (or fucker); US Airforce nickname for the B-52 bomber.
    • 2004, Nick Veronico, Nicholas A. Veronico, Jim Dunn, 21st Century U.S. Air Power, page 48:
      Deployed at no higher than 135 knots, the 44-foot drag chute aids in braking the BUFF.
Related terms
Buff
Proper noun
  1. Surname


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