chaff

noun

/tʃæf/, /tʃɑːf/

/tʃæf/

[uncountable]Idioms

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the outer layer of the seeds of grain such as wheat, which is separated from the grain before it is eatenTopics Farmingc2
straw (= dried stems of wheat) and hay (= dried grass) cut up as food for cowsTopics Farmingc2

Word Originnoun Old English cæf, ceaf, probably from a Germanic base meaning ‘gnaw’; related to Dutch kaf.

Idioms

sort out/separate the wheat from the chaff

to recognize the difference between useful or valuable people or things and those that are not useful or have no value
- We sifted through the application forms to separate the wheat from the chaff.

verb

/tʃæf/, /tʃɑːf/

/tʃæf/

(old-fashioned or formal)

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they chaff	/tʃæf/, /tʃɑːf/ /tʃæf/
he / she / it chaffs	/tʃæfs/, /tʃɑːfs/ /tʃæfs/
past simple chaffed	/tʃæft/, /tʃɑːft/ /tʃæft/
past participle chaffed	/tʃæft/, /tʃɑːft/ /tʃæft/
-ing form chaffing	/ˈtʃæfɪŋ/, /ˈtʃɑːfɪŋ/ /ˈtʃæfɪŋ/

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chaff somebody to make jokes about somebody in a friendly way synonym tease
Word Originverb early 19th cent.: perhaps from chafe.