puff
noun · verb
Simple meaning
To blow out short bursts of air or smoke.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
puhfIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈpʌf
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Forceful exhalation through the nose or mouth
countable
A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.
countable
A small quantity of gas or smoke in the air.
informalcountable
An act of inhaling smoke from a cigarette, cigar or pipe.
countable
A light cake filled with cream, cream cheese, etc.
uncountable
The ability to breathe easily while exerting oneself.
verb
intransitive
To emit smoke, gas, etc., in puffs.
To swell with air; to be dilated or inflated.
To swell or cause to enlarge
“Her faced puffed up from the drugs.”
To cause to swell or dilate; to inflate.
Praise extravagantly
“The critics puffed up this Broadway production.”
To praise with exaggeration; to flatter; to call public attention to by praises; to praise unduly.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A small quantity of gas or smoke in the air.
Used this way, puff is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. This sense is about measurement, so it is used where accuracy is the point.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Technical/specialist writing
- Academic writing
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Swell / causeverb
“Her faced puffed up from the drugs.”
Praiseverb
“The critics puffed up this Broadway production.”
More ways to use puff
- “He took a puff on his pipe.”noun
- “Her faced puffed up from the drugs.”verb
- “The critics puffed up this Broadway production.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Puffy wheat berries.
Large African viper that inflates its body when alarmed.
Batter for making light hollow cases to hold various fillings.
A short light gust of air.
To swell or cause to enlarge.
Dough used for very light flaky rich pastries.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.