What does "duff" mean?
Dough.
Duff
/dʌf/ adj, name, noun, verb, slang
adj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Dough.
- Grammar: duff is listed as adj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: arse, bad, beat, behind.
- Useful contrasts: authentic, bare soil, face.
- Usage evidence: Later on, all the tinned meat came to an end, likewise the potatoes, and we lived on salt meat, biscuit, and duff; this fare was served out to all the messes on board, and we, I was going to say, saloon-folk, fared no better than the fo'castle hands.
How to use "duff"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "duff" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "duff" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "duff" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "duff" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "duff" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "arse" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "duff", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Dough. countable, dialectal, uncountable
- 2 Decaying vegetable matter on the forest floor. British-Columbia, Northwestern, Scotland, US, countable, uncountable
"Forest fires have often been started from wantonness; for the sake of making a big blaze, fires will be carelessly left by guides, or will be smouldering in the duff,* where it will burn for weeks. I have seen the smoke from fires in the duff even after the snow has fallen. * Local term for the vegetable growth covering the forest ground of the Adirondacks. under the spruce trees, the falling needles accumulate to considerable depth, forming the "spruce duff," a peculiar and interesting variety of forest humus."
- 3 The buttocks. US, slang
- 4 Alternative form of daf (“type of drum”). alt-of, alternative
- 5 Acronym of dumb/designated ugly fat friend, an attractive woman's less attractive friend. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, derogatory, slang
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 a stiff flour pudding steamed or boiled usually and containing e.g. currants and raisins and citron wordnet
- 7 A stiff flour pudding, often with dried fruit, boiled in a cloth bag, or steamed. countable, uncountable
"Later on, all the tinned meat came to an end, likewise the potatoes, and we lived on salt meat, biscuit, and duff; this fare was served out to all the messes on board, and we, I was going to say, saloon-folk, fared no better than the fo'castle hands."
- 8 Coal dust, especially that left after screening or combined with other small, unsaleable bits of coal. countable, uncountable
- 9 A pudding-style dessert, especially one made with plums or (in the Bahamas) guavas. countable, uncountable
"They must live on sea food—a deal more of salt beef, pork, beans, and hard tack is than of any thing else, but of the food at sea well as in port it may here be said that it is ample in quantity and good enough anybody, though by no means all strawberry shortcake and cream or plum duff."
- 10 Fine and dry coal in small pieces, usually anthracite. countable, uncountable
"The great bulk of the coal burnt under our boilers is duff of a very small size, and a mixed coal of duff, peas, and small nuts."
- 11 A mixture of coal and rock. British, countable, uncountable
- 12 The bits left in the bottom of the bag after the booty has been consumed, like crumbs. countable, slang, uncountable
- 13 Something spurious or fake; a counterfeit; a worthless thing; a defective thing. countable, uncountable
- 14 An error. countable, slang, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To disguise something to make it look new. obsolete, slang
- 2 To sell spurious goods, often under pretence of their being stolen or smuggled. obsolete, slang
"A person once taken-in by smuggled handkerchiefs, or anything, won’t deal with a hawker again, even though there’s no deception. But ‘duffing,’ and all that is going down fast, and I wish it was gone altogether."
- 3 To alter the branding of stolen cattle; to steal cattle. Australia
- 4 To hit the ground behind the ball. US
Adjective
- 1 Worthless; not working properly, defective. UK
"Why do I always get a shopping trolley with duff wheels?"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable
- 2 A placename; A village in Saskatchewan, Canada. countable, uncountable
- 3 A placename; An unincorporated community in Indiana, United States. countable, uncountable
- 4 A placename; An unincorporated community in Nebraska, United States. countable, uncountable
- 5 A placename; An unincorporated community in Tennessee, United States. countable, uncountable
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A male given name. countable
- 7 A BR class 47, a class of British diesel locomotive. UK, countable, uncountable
Example
"Later on, all the tinned meat came to an end, likewise the potatoes, and we lived on salt meat, biscuit, and duff; this fare was served out to all the messes on board, and we, I was going to say, saloon-folk, fared no better than the fo'castle hands."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "duff"?
Common synonyms include: arse, bad, beat, behind, bilk, blow.
How do you use "duff" in a sentence?
Later on, all the tinned meat came to an end, likewise the potatoes, and we lived on salt meat, biscuit, and duff; this fare was served out to all the messes on board, and we, I was going to say, saloon-folk, fared no better than the fo'castle hands.
How do you pronounce "duff"?
Pronounced /dʌf/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Representing a northern England and Scots pronunciation of dough.
Etymology 2
Uncertain; probably related to Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“to whisk, smoke, darken, obscure”).
Etymology 3
Uncertain; perhaps the same as Etymology 1, above.
Etymology 4
Originally thieves' slang; probably a back-formation from duffer.
Etymology 5
From the Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, from dubh (“dark”).