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Puff   /pəf/   Listen
noun
Puff  n.  
1.
A sudden and single emission of breath from the mouth; hence, any sudden or short blast of wind; a slight gust; a whiff. " To every puff of wind a slave."
2.
Anything light and filled with air. Specifically:
(a)
A puffball.
(b)
kind of light pastry.
(c)
A utensil of the toilet for dusting the skin or hair with powder.
3.
An exaggerated or empty expression of praise, especially one in a public journal.
Puff adder. (Zool.)
(a)
Any South African viper belonging to Clotho and allied genera. They are exceedingly venomous, and have the power of greatly distending their bodies when irritated. The common puff adder (Vipera arietans, or Clotho arietans) is the largest species, becoming over four feet long. The plumed puff adder (Clotho cornuta) has a plumelike appendage over each eye.
(b)
A North American harmless snake (Heterodon platyrrhinos) which has the power of puffing up its body. Called also hog-nose snake, flathead, spreading adder, and blowing adder.
Puff bird (Zool.), any bird of the genus Bucco, or family Bucconidae. They are small birds, usually with dull-colored and loose plumage, and have twelve tail feathers. See Barbet (b).


verb
Puff  v. t.  
1.
To drive with a puff, or with puffs. "The clearing north will puff the clouds away."
2.
To repel with words; to blow at contemptuously. "I puff the prostitute away."
3.
To cause to swell or dilate; to inflate; to ruffle with puffs; often with up; as, a bladder puffed with air. "The sea puffed up with winds."
4.
To inflate with pride, flattery, self-esteem, or the like; often with up. "Puffed up with military success."
5.
To praise with exaggeration; to flatter; to call public attention to by praises; to praise unduly. " Puffed with wonderful skill."


Puff  v. i.  (past & past part. puffed; pres. part. puffing)  
1.
To blow in puffs, or with short and sudden whiffs.
2.
To blow, as an expression of scorn; with at. "It is really to defy Heaven to puff at damnation."
3.
To breathe quick and hard, or with puffs, as after violent exertion. "The ass comes back again, puffing and blowing, from the chase."
4.
To swell with air; to be dilated or inflated.
5.
To breathe in a swelling, inflated, or pompous manner; hence, to assume importance. "Then came brave Glory puffing by."


adjective
Puff  adj.  Puffed up; vain. (R.)





Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48


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"Puff" Quotes from Famous Books



... his door and trotted down the long stair and out into the yard. A great puff of wind at once came against him. He turned and went with it, and it blew him up to the stable door and ...
— At the Back of the North Wind • Elizabeth Lewis and George MacDonald
... right, he had already eaten—pork, and she had guessed it. Ivan began to puff. "You are an idiot, I tell you," ...
— Tales of the Wilderness • Boris Pilniak
... smoothness of its surface. After a time, victory declared for Boreas, and he drove the smooth strip towards our vessel, which had hitherto been sailing in the territory of the south wind. We presently entered the calm region; and while we had not a puff to swell our sails, the wind raged with undiminished fury on both sides. This strange spectacle lasted for about a quarter of an hour; when the north wind, which had been continually advancing, ...
— A New Voyage Round the World, in the years 1823, 24, 25, and 26, Vol. 2 • Otto von Kotzebue
... sudden amazement, indignation and pride that made lightning in their tender blue. Then,—deliberately choosing a cigarette from the silver box which had been placed on the table before her, she lit it,—and began to puff the smoke from her rosy lips in delicate rings, turning to Lord Roxmouth as she did so with a playful word and smile. It was enough;—the 'lead' was given. A glance of approval went the round of ...
— God's Good Man • Marie Corelli
... success of Coriolanus, the sixteenth of Shakespeare's plays to be put on in Kristiania, neither the newspapers nor the magazines give us any clew. If we may believe a little puff in Aftenposten for January 20, 1874, the staging was to be magnificent. Coriolanus was played in a translation by Hartvig Lassen for the first time on January 21, 1874. After thirteen performances it was withdrawn on January 10, 1876, and ...
— An Essay Toward a History of Shakespeare in Norway • Martin Brown Ruud


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