# buff

Pronunciation: say "BUF" US/UK /bʌf/, AUS /bɐf/

## Noun

1. An enthusiast who takes a keen interest in and knows a great deal about a particular subject. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Someone who knows a lot about a subject and really likes it.
   - _She's a serious opera buff who attends every premiere._
   - _The museum's lectures draw history buffs from across the state._
5. In gaming, a temporary effect, or a change made in an update, that makes a character or item stronger.
   - Simple: In games, something that makes a player or item stronger.
   - _The healer cast a buff that boosted everyone's defense._
   - _Stacking several buffs made the boss fight much easier._
7. A brownish-yellow color.
   - Simple: A pale yellow-brown color.
   - _The designer chose buff for the living room walls._
   - _Her dress was a warm shade of buff._
8. A polishing tool, often covered with soft leather, used to bring surfaces to a shine.
   - Simple: A tool used for polishing, often covered with soft leather.
   - _A leather buff is ideal for polishing soft metals without scratching them._
   - _He passed the tarnished spoon over the buff several times._
9. Bare, unclothed skin, chiefly encountered in the phrase "in the buff." *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Bare skin with no clothes on.
   - _They went swimming in the buff at the secluded lake._
   - _She sunbathed in the buff on the private balcony._
10. A strong, undyed leather made from the hide of buffalo or similar animals.
   - Simple: Strong, undyed leather made from buffalo or ox skin.
   - _The old jerkin was cut from pale, undyed buff._
   - _Saddlers prized buff for its toughness and natural color._
11. The meat of a buffalo, or a buffalo itself. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Meat from a buffalo, or a buffalo itself.
   - _The butcher sold buff alongside goat and chicken._
   - _Travelers in the region often eat buff in spicy curries._

## Verb

2. To polish something to a shine by rubbing it.
   - Simple: To rub something until it looks smooth and shiny.
   - _She buffed the silver tray until it caught the light._
   - _Workers buff the marble floors every night after closing._
6. In gaming, to make a character or item more powerful.
   - Simple: In games, to make a character or item stronger.
   - _Developers plan to buff the underused class in the coming patch._
   - _The latest patch buffed several weapons nobody was using._
12. To remove graffiti from a surface, especially when done by someone other than a graffiti writer. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To clean off graffiti, usually done by someone who is not a graffiti artist.
   - _The transit authority buffs tagged carriages within hours._
   - _Workers buff every mural in the underpass, erasing months of effort._

## Adjective

3. Having an unusually muscular, well-developed physique. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Having big, strong muscles.
   - _The gym regulars were all impressively buff._
   - _He spent two years getting buff before the competition._
4. Of a pale brownish-yellow color, like that of undyed leather.
   - Simple: Having a pale yellow-brown color.
   - _He wore a buff overcoat against the fall chill._
   - _The envelope was a plain buff color._
13. Physically attractive; good-looking. *(dialectal, Multicultural London English)*
   - Simple: Good-looking and attractive.
   - _Everyone at school agreed the new girl was well buff, with her bright smile and perfect hair._
   - _My cousin says the singer is buff, but I think she's only average-looking._

## Noun

14. A strike or a blow. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A hit or a blow.
15. Another spelling of buffe: armor worn with a helmet to protect the whole face or its lower part. *(rare)* — Alternative form of buffe (“face armor”).
   - Simple: Alternative form of buffe. It means a piece of armor that covers the face.

## Verb

16. To stammer or stutter when speaking. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To speak with stops and repeats, the way a stutter sounds.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A coat of buff leather worn as part of military dress.
- (verb) To make changes to entries in a medical chart, often deceptively.
- (noun) A substance used to dilute street drugs so a dealer can sell more and earn higher profits.
- (noun) The grayish, viscid substance that makes up the buffy coat in separated blood.
- (noun) The compressive force in a train's couplers that occurs when the slack between cars is bunched together.
- (verb) To strike or deliver a blow.

## Origin

**Meanings 1–10, 12–13** — From 'buffe' meaning "leather," which came from Middle French 'buffle' ("buffalo").
**Meaning 14** — Its source is bufer, an Old French verb meaning "to cuff, buffet," and it is connected with the noun buffet in its sense of "a blow."
**Meaning 16** — The Proto-Indo-European root *bʰeyH- ("to fear, to be afraid") led through Proto-West Germanic *bubjaną to Old English byffan ("to mumble, mutter"), which became Middle English buffen ("to stutter, stammer").
**Meaning 11** — A clipping of 'buffalo'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/buff (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).