Bluff Meaning
/blʌf/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one’s position in order to intimidate or deceive; braggadocio.
nounAn attempt to represent oneself as holding a stronger hand than one actually does.
Sentence Examples
Hanako called his bluff.
We can't call their bluff.
How did you know I was going to call your bluff?
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the intense poker game, he tried to ____ by acting like he had a winning hand.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The house was built on a high ____ overlooking the deep blue sea.
Word Origin & History
Probably from Dutch bluffen (“to brag”), from Middle Dutch bluffen (“to make something swell; to bluff”); or from the Dutch noun bluf (“bragging”). Related to German verblüffen (“to stump, perplex”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
""That's enough," announced Joolby with decision. "You've put up all the bluff you know, Carrados, and we've got you dog-beaten. […]""
— 1934, Ernest Bramah, The Bravo of London:
"BLUFF OR POKER [title of a chapter]"
— 1845, Hoyle's Games:
"Vinod, you want to bluff the doctor, your mother, father, uncle, auntie, CMPB all that I don't care. But you cannot bluff me."
— 1993, Haresh Sharma, Off Centre, Ethos Books, →ISBN, Act 3, scene I, page 86, lines 1–4:
"In the sketch (which is taken about 75 Jovian days after that of the 2nd July) there is shown a dark copper-coloured streak along the southern margin of the south brown belt, butting on to a bluff-headed streak of cumulus cloud which may be the same remarkable bluff head noticed on July 2."
— 1878 November 8, C. Todd, “Observations at the Adelaide Observatory”, in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, volume 39, number 1, page 18:
"It seems there was a worm that slept upon a pile of treasure, which it had zealously heaped up under a stone bluff."
— 1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 39:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
During the intense poker game, he tried to ____ by acting like he had a winning hand.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The house was built on a high ____ overlooking the deep blue sea.