What does "puff" mean?
A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.
Puff
/pʌf/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.
- Grammar: puff is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: blow, acknowledgment, add to, adulate.
- Useful contrasts: brush, deflate, downplay.
- Usage evidence: This puff pastry is popular in the Philippines.
How to use "puff"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "puff" 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 "puff" 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 "puff" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "puff" 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 "puff" is acting as 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 "blow" 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 "puff", 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 A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth. countable
- 2 forceful exhalation through the nose or mouth wordnet
- 3 The ability to breathe easily while exerting oneself. uncountable
"out of puff"
- 4 a slow inhalation (as of tobacco smoke) wordnet
- 5 A small quantity of gas or smoke in the air. countable
"puff of smoke"
Show 18 more definitions
- 6 thick cushion used as a seat wordnet
- 7 A sudden but small gust of wind, smoke, etc. countable
"to every puff of wind a slave"
- 8 a soft spherical object made from fluffy fibers; for applying powder to the skin wordnet
- 9 An act of inhaling smoke from a cigarette, cigar or pipe. countable, informal
"When I went to bed that night I found that I could not get to sleep. At five o'clock I got up and took a hot bath. I climbed back into bed and lighted one of the Chinese-made "Great Wall" cigars my hosts had thoughtfully provided, and sat puffing on the cigar and making notes about the events of the momentous week."
- 10 bedding made of two layers of cloth filled with stuffing and stitched together wordnet
- 11 The drug cannabis. slang, uncountable
- 12 exaggerated praise (as for promotional purposes) wordnet
- 13 A flamboyant or alluring statement of praise. countable
"[…] though I care not one straw for the personal puffs of which I myself am so often the subject […]"
- 14 a light inflated pastry or puff shell wordnet
- 15 A portion of fabric gathered up so as to be left full in the middle. countable, uncountable
"a sleeve with a puff at the shoulder"
- 16 a short light gust of air wordnet
- 17 A light cake filled with cream, cream cheese, etc. countable
"cream puff"
- 18 A puffball. countable, uncountable
"Bozzacchio, an acorne. Also a puffe or mushrump full of dust."
- 19 A powder puff. countable, uncountable
- 20 A puffer, one who is employed by the owner or seller of goods sold at auction to bid up the price; an act or scam of that type. countable, dated, slang, uncountable
"Is nothing to be said in praise of the "Emporiums" and "Repositories" and "Divans," which formerly were mere insignificant tailors', toymen's, and tobacconists' shops? Is the transition from the barber's pole to the revolving bust of the perruquier, nothing? — the leap from the bare counter-traversed shop to the carpeted and mirrored saloon of trade, nothing? Are they not, one and all, practical puffs, intended to invest commerce with elegance, and to throw a halo round extravagance?"
- 21 A region of a chromosome exhibiting a local increase in diameter. countable, uncountable
- 22 Life. UK, countable, dated, slang, uncountable
"Did you ever in your puff see such a perfect perisher?"
- 23 Synonym of poof: a gay man; especially one who is effeminate. Northern-England, countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To emit smoke, gas, etc., in puffs. intransitive
"Still on the down line, the engine puffed away to the South, and in a few moments had disappeared in the darkness!"
- 2 breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted wordnet
- 3 To pant. intransitive
"By and by comes the ass back again, Puffing and Blowing, from the Chase."
- 4 blow hard and loudly wordnet
- 5 To advertise. archaic, transitive
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 to swell or cause to enlarge wordnet
- 7 To blow as an expression of scorn.
"It is really to defy Heaven to puff at damnation."
- 8 speak in a blustering or scornful manner wordnet
- 9 To swell with air; to be dilated or inflated.
"'tis easy for a man to have a great opinion of his own knowledge , and be puff'd up by it"
- 10 praise extravagantly wordnet
- 11 To breathe in a swelling, inflated, or pompous manner; hence, to assume importance.
"Then came brave Glory puffing by."
- 12 smoke and exhale strongly wordnet
- 13 To drive with a puff, or with puffs.
"The clearing north will puff the clouds away."
- 14 suck in or take (air) wordnet
- 15 To repel with words; to blow at contemptuously.
"I puff the prostitute away."
- 16 make proud or conceited wordnet
- 17 To cause to swell or dilate; to inflate.
"a bladder puffed with air"
- 18 To inflate with pride, flattery, self-esteem, etc.; often with up.
"puffed up with military success"
- 19 To praise with exaggeration; to flatter; to call public attention to by praises; to praise unduly.
"puffed with wonderful skill"
Adjective
- 1 gathered for protruding fullness wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"This puff pastry is popular in the Philippines."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "puff"?
Common synonyms include: blow, acknowledgment, add to, adulate, advertise, advertisement.
How do you use "puff" in a sentence?
This puff pastry is popular in the Philippines.
How do you pronounce "puff"?
Pronounced /pʌf/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English puff, puf, from Old English pyf (“a blast of wind, puff”), from Proto-West Germanic *puf(f)- (“to blow, puff”), of imitative origin. Cognate with Dutch puf (“puff, wind, fart”), Middle Low German puf, pof (“puff”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English puffen, from Old English pyffan (“to breathe out, blow with the mouth”). Compare Dutch puffen, German Low German puffen, German puffen, Danish puffe, Swedish puffa.