puff

CEFRB1

/pʌf/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A small cloud or amount of smoke, air, or powder.

  2. 02

    verb

    To breathe out forcefully or blow air in short bursts.

Examples

  • A light, airy puff flows from this perfume.

  • This puff pastry is popular in the Philippines.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A small quantity of gas or smoke in the air.

  2. The ability to breathe easily while exerting oneself.

  3. A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.

More examples

In context

  • a sleeve with a puff at the shoulder

  • puff of smoke

  • a bladder puffed with air

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The old man sat on the bench and began to blank on his pipe.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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”).