fluff
1 of 2noun
ˈfləf 
1
: down entry 7 sense 1
2
: something fluffy
dandelion fluff
3
: something inconsequential
4
: blunder
especially : an actor's lapse of memory
fluff
2 of 2verb
fluffed; fluffing; fluffs
transitive verb
1
: to make fluffy
fluff the pillows
birds fluffing up their feathers
2
a
: to spoil by a mistake : botch
b
: to deliver badly or forget (one's lines) in a play
intransitive verb
1
: to become fluffy
2
: to make a mistake
especially : to forget or bungle one's lines in a play
Synonyms
Noun
- down
- floss
- fur
- fuzz
- lint
- nap
- pile
Verb
- blunder
- boob [British]
- err
- flub
- foul up
- fumble
- goof (up)
- louse up
- mess (up)
- screw up
- slip up
- stumble
- trip
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
Noun Her sweater was covered with fluff. The movie was pure fluff. Her latest article has the usual fluff about movie stars and gossip. Verb The wind fluffed his hair. The golfer fluffed another shot. The actor kept fluffing the same line. See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Sydni Ellis, Peoplemag, 16 Sep. 2022 Austen’s work is often marginalised as chocolate-boxy society fluff. Helen Nianias, refinery29.com, 18 July 2022 Cottonwood fluff was used to ignite Confederate gunpowder during the Civil War, I am told. Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2022 At Nest 233, Michael Rickershauser, the other assistant, finds only a clump of decaying white fluff. Richard Mertens, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 June 2022 Going on 30 skips all the fluff and goes straight for the gut. Véronique Hyland, ELLE, 18 May 2022 The old-school polyester fluff is warm but bulky, with no DWR finish to repel precipitation, and no moisture-wicking grid or lining to battle sweat. Kelly Bastone, Outside Online, 4 Apr. 2021 The formulas are made with active ingredients that are clinically proven, without any filler or fluff. Rachel King, Fortune, 30 Apr. 2022 Chocolate doughnuts also were a standout here, fried to a delicate fluff and topped with a flavorful glaze. Paul Stephen, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Mar. 2022 Tim Flannery, The New York Review of Books, 7 Sep. 2022 If needed, use a wool comb or slicker brush to brush out and fluff up the rug's fibers. Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Aug. 2022 Our analysts were impressed with the durable foam and found this bean bag chair easy to fluff up, even after having countless testers sit in it. Emma Seymour, Good Housekeeping, 5 Aug. 2022 Wrap the braid around into a topknot, and fluff out the ends of the braid for additional volume at the end, Hurtado suggests. Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 4 Aug. 2022 The pillows come compressed, so the brand recommends throwing them in the dryer for 20 minutes on medium heat to fluff them up. Isabel Garcia, Peoplemag, 11 Aug. 2022 Thrive’s collagen does fluff up beverages with a nice supple foam. Maggie Lange, Bon Appétit, 22 July 2022 Use the back of a fork to smash any large chunks into granita smithereens, then use the tines to fluff it up. Aliza Abarbanel, Bon Appétit, 2 June 2022 But where so many of their films in the past concluded with at least a tiny sliver of solace, hope or grace piercing the social-realist gloom, Belgium’s preeminent filmmaking brothers are having none of that happy-clappy fluff this time time. Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 May 2022 See More
Noun
Margaret flicked a piece of fluff off Townsend's jacket in an intimate gesture that a reporter noticed. Sydni Ellis, Peoplemag, 16 Sep. 2022 Austen’s work is often marginalised as chocolate-boxy society fluff. Helen Nianias, refinery29.com, 18 July 2022 Cottonwood fluff was used to ignite Confederate gunpowder during the Civil War, I am told. Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2022 At Nest 233, Michael Rickershauser, the other assistant, finds only a clump of decaying white fluff. Richard Mertens, The Christian Science Monitor, 16 June 2022 Going on 30 skips all the fluff and goes straight for the gut. Véronique Hyland, ELLE, 18 May 2022 The old-school polyester fluff is warm but bulky, with no DWR finish to repel precipitation, and no moisture-wicking grid or lining to battle sweat. Kelly Bastone, Outside Online, 4 Apr. 2021 The formulas are made with active ingredients that are clinically proven, without any filler or fluff. Rachel King, Fortune, 30 Apr. 2022 Chocolate doughnuts also were a standout here, fried to a delicate fluff and topped with a flavorful glaze. Paul Stephen, San Antonio Express-News, 2 Mar. 2022 Verb
Other varieties grown by Monbiot are dried for future consumption, made into cider, taste of caraway seeds, or fluff up when baked. Tim Flannery, The New York Review of Books, 7 Sep. 2022 If needed, use a wool comb or slicker brush to brush out and fluff up the rug's fibers. Jolie Kerr, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Aug. 2022 Our analysts were impressed with the durable foam and found this bean bag chair easy to fluff up, even after having countless testers sit in it. Emma Seymour, Good Housekeeping, 5 Aug. 2022 Wrap the braid around into a topknot, and fluff out the ends of the braid for additional volume at the end, Hurtado suggests. Danielle Sinay, Glamour, 4 Aug. 2022 The pillows come compressed, so the brand recommends throwing them in the dryer for 20 minutes on medium heat to fluff them up. Isabel Garcia, Peoplemag, 11 Aug. 2022 Thrive’s collagen does fluff up beverages with a nice supple foam. Maggie Lange, Bon Appétit, 22 July 2022 Use the back of a fork to smash any large chunks into granita smithereens, then use the tines to fluff it up. Aliza Abarbanel, Bon Appétit, 2 June 2022 But where so many of their films in the past concluded with at least a tiny sliver of solace, hope or grace piercing the social-realist gloom, Belgium’s preeminent filmmaking brothers are having none of that happy-clappy fluff this time time. Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Noun
perhaps blend of flue (fluff) and puff
First Known Use
Noun
1790, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Verb
1835, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1
Kids Definition
fluff 1 of 2
noun
ˈfləf
: something light and soft
Fluff stuck out of the torn cushion.
fluff
2 of 2verb
fluffed; fluffing
: to make or become fuller, lighter, or softer
She fluffed up her pillow.
fluffing
verb
1
as in fumbling
to make a mistake unnerved by her earlier missteps, the skater fluffed on the final jump as well Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- fumbling
- stumbling
- tripping
- blundering
- flubbing
- nodding
- boobing
- erring
- slipping up
- mistaking
- bobbling
- misunderstanding
- screwing up
- muffing
- mangling
- fouling up
- botching
- lousing up
- bungling
- butchering
- murdering
- dropping the ball
- laying an egg
- miscuing
- miscounting
- misjudging
- goofing (up)
- miscalculating
- mishandling
- misconceiving
- foozling
- misdeeming
- misconstruing
- misinterpreting
- messing (up)
- misgauging
- misgaging
2
as in blowing
to make or do (something) in a clumsy or unskillful way I completely fluffed the introduction by calling the boss's wife by the wrong name Synonyms & Similar Words
- fumbling
- blowing
- dubbing
- bobbling
- ruining
- mangling
- muffing
- spoiling
- destroying
- murdering
- flubbing
- botching
- booting
- butchering
- bungling
- boggling
- damaging
- bumbling
- wrecking
- marring
- muddling
- screwing up
- mucking up
- mutilating
- fouling up
- foozling
- injuring
- blundering
- lousing up
- hurting
- bollixing (up)
- harming
- impairing
- buggering (up)
- goofing (up)
- blemishing
- flawing
- piffling
- blighting
- messing (up)
- mismanaging
- vitiating
- mishandling
- gumming (up)
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- improving
- helping
- enhancing
- refining
- reforming
- ameliorating
- fixing
- rectifying
- repairing
- remedying
- patching
- doctoring
- reconditioning
- revamping
- renovating
- meliorating
- bettering