Puff Meaning
/pʌf/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.
nounThe ability to breathe easily while exerting oneself.
Sentence Examples
This puff pastry is popular in the Philippines.
A light, airy puff flows from this perfume.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old man sat on the bench and began to ____ on his pipe.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She took a ____ of her inhaler before the race to ensure her airways were fully open.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"to every puff of wind a slave"
— 1674, Thomas Flatman, Poems and Songs:
""The wind we had was only an early puff! You'll see we shall have our full allowance!""
— 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 184:
"When I went to bed that night I found that I could not get to sleep. At five o'clock I got up and took a hot bath. I climbed back into bed and lighted one of the Chinese-made "Great Wall" cigars my hosts had thoughtfully provided, and sat puffing on the cigar and making notes about the events of the momentous week."
— 1978, Richard Nixon, “The Presidency 1969–1972”, in RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 572:
"[…] though I care not one straw for the personal puffs of which I myself am so often the subject […]"
— 1902, Robert Marshall Grade, The Haunted Major:
"[…] we critics were not his fellow-guests, but simply deadheads whose business it was to "dress the house" and write puffs."
— 1931, Bernard Shaw, Our Theatre in the Nineties, volume 24, page 246:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The old man sat on the bench and began to ____ on his pipe.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She took a ____ of her inhaler before the race to ensure her airways were fully open.