a soft, thick, light-yellow leather with a napped surface, originally made from buffalo skin but later also from other skins, used for making belts, pouches, etc.
a brownish-yellow color; tan.
a buff stick or buff wheel.
a devotee or well-informed student of some activity or subject: Civil War buffs avidly read the new biography of Grant.
Informal. the bare skin, or the state of being nude: swimming in the buff;stripped to his buff.
Also called buffcoat. a thick, short coat of buffalo leather, worn especially by English soldiers and American colonists in the 17th century.
Informal. a buffalo.
adjective
having the color of buff.
made of buff leather.
Slang. physically attractive; muscular.
verb (used with object)
to clean or polish (metal) or give a grainless finish of high luster to (plated surfaces) with or as if with a buff stick or buff wheel.
to polish or shine, especially with a buffer: to buff shoes.
to dye or stain in a buff color.
Origin of buff
1
First recorded in 1545–55; 1900–05 for def. 4; earlier buffe “wild ox,” back formation from buffle, from Middle French, from Late Latin būfalus; see buffalo; (def. 4) originally a person enthusiastic about firefighting and firefighters, allegedly after the buff-colored uniforms once worn by volunteer firefighters in New York City
SYNONYMS FOR buff
11 burnish.
SEE SYNONYMS FOR buff ON THESAURUS.COM
OTHER WORDS FROM buff
buff·a·bil·i·ty,nounbuff·a·ble,adjective
Words nearby buff
Buenos Aires, buenos días, Buerger's disease, BUF, bufadienolide, buff, buffa, buffalo, buffalo berry, Buffalo Bill, buffalo bird
Definition for buff (2 of 2)
buff2
[ buhf ]
/ bʌf /
verb (used with object)
to reduce or deaden the force of; act as a buffer.
noun
Chiefly BritishDialect. a blow; slap.
Origin of buff
2
1375–1425; late Middle English buffe, back formation from buffet1