Buffer Meaning
/ˈbʌfə/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounSomeone or something that buffs (polishes and makes shiny).
nounSomeone or something that buffs (polishes and makes shiny)., A machine with rotary brushes, passed over a hard floor to clean it.
Sentence Examples
We should not use foreign workers as a buffer against Japan's economic slowdown.
During the Great Game, Afghanistan was a buffer state.
Support from family and friends acts as a buffer against stress.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The software uses a temporary ____ to prevent data loss during transfers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Trees can act as a natural ____ against the loud noise of the traffic.
Word Origin & History
From buff + -er.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The underframe, which has been designed to take buffing loads of 200 tons both on the centre coupler and on the retractable side buffers, consists of two centre girders from which cantilevers project to support the solebars, which in turn carry the bodyside structure."
— 1951 May, “British Railways Standard Coaches”, in Railway Magazine, page 327:
"Then, with a shock like a thousand goods trains crashing into a thousand pairs of buffers, the lips of rock closed."
— 1953, C. S. Lewis, chapter 14, in The Silver Chair, Collins, published 1998:
"Of course, I was not always right. I questioned the value of Crossrail (a scheme revived by Prescott after being scrapped by the Conservatives), suggesting wrongly that it may be "doomed to hit the buffers" […]. A dozen years later, I published my book on it, extolling the line's wonders. We are all allowed to change our minds."
— 2024 January 10, Christian Wolmar, “A time for change? ... just as it was back in issue 262”, in RAIL, number 1000, page 61:
"An utterly emphatic 5-0 victory was ultimately capped by two wonder strikes in the last two minutes from Aston Villa midfielder Gary Gardner. Before that, England had utterly dominated to take another purposeful stride towards the 2013 European Championship in Israel. They have already established a five-point buffer at the top of Group Eight."
— 2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, in Telegraph:
"He decided to run for president of the POs' Mess against the Buffer, Chief Bosun's Mate Mal Crane, but the two had a face-to-face in his cabin one night in Narvik and sorted it out."
— 2001, Mark Higgitt, Through Fire and Water, page 43:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The software uses a temporary ____ to prevent data loss during transfers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Trees can act as a natural ____ against the loud noise of the traffic.