See Also: Powder Puff, Puff Ball - Bowling(gambling)
puff(2)(dictionary)
puff(1)(dictionary)
puff-puff(dictionary)
puff-leg(medicine)
Puff(medicine)
DNA puff(medicine)
puff pastry(dictionary)
Puff pastry(recipes)
puff 1, verb(dictionary)

puff(2) (iou)



puff verb. ME.
[Imit., perh. repr. Old English pyffan, corresp. to Middle & mod. Dutch puffen, Dutch poffen. Cf. PUFF noun.]
a. verb intrans. Blow with a short quick blast or blasts; emit a puff of air or breath. ME.
Shakespeare As You Like It Foggy South, puffing with wind and rain.
b. verb intrans. Breathe hard, pant; run pantingly. Freq. in puff and blow. LME.
R. Ingalls She was puffing by the time they reached the..arena.
c. verb trans. Utter breathlessly or whilst panting. Freq. foll. by out. L16.
d. verb intrans. Send out or move with puffs of vapour, smoke, etc. (freq. foll. by away, in, out); (of a person smoking) take puffs at a cigarette, pipe, etc. L18.
Railway Magazine The 7:30 a.m. from Amman..puffs heavily round a hillside. A. MacLean He puffed deeply on an ancient brier.
e. verb trans. Cause to puff, put out of breath; tire (a person) out. Chiefly as puffed ppl adjective. E19.
f. verb intrans. Of a puffball or similar fungus: discharge a cloud of spores suddenly. L19.
verb trans.
a. Blow or carry (dust, a cloud, etc.) away, out, up, etc., with a short quick blast; emit (smoke, steam, etc.) in puffs. ME.
M. Frayn A train..puffing..snowballs of smoke.
b. Extinguish with a puff. Usu. foll. by out. M16.
c. Blow (a fire) with the mouth or bellows to make it burn well. E17-M18.
d. Smoke (a cigarette, pipe, etc.) in intermittent puffs. E19.
e. Apply (powder) with a powder-puff. M19.
a. verb trans. Praise or commend extravagantly or unduly; esp. advertise or review (a product, book, etc.), with excessive or false enthusiasm. LME.
P. Zweig The dubious ethics of anonymously puffing one's own work.
b. verb intrans. Make exaggerated claims, boast. rare. M18.
c. verb intrans. Make dummy bids at an auction to inflate or raise the price of a lot and incite others to buy. M19.
verb intrans. Express contempt or scorn; speak or behave scornfully or insolently, swagger. L15-L17.
Bible (AV): Psalms 10:5 As for..his enemies, he puffeth at them.
a. verb trans. & intrans. Become or cause to become swollen or inflated, swell; distend or become distended (as) by inflation, padding, or gathering in a bunch. Usu. foll. by up, out. L15.
puffed rice, puffed wheat, etc.
C. Easton Puffed up from..cortisone injections. P. Lively She was a small round woman, puffed out with frilly blouses.
b. verb intrans. Cytology. Of a polytene chromosome: form a puff (PUFF noun 4d). Chiefly as puffed ppl adjective, puffing verbal noun. M20.
verb trans. fig.
a. Cause to swell with vanity, pride, etc.; make vain, proud, or arrogant; elate; rare cause to swell with anger. Usu. foll. by up. Chiefly as puffed ppl adjective. E16.
Daedalus Puffed-up hypocrites.
b. Foll. by up: raise unduly in position or authority. M16-M17.
Comb.: puff adder (a) a large, very venomous African viper, Bitis arietans, which hisses loudly when alarmed; (b) (US) = hognose snake s.v. HOG noun; puffbird any of various American birds of the family Bucconidae, closely related to the jacamars, and having lax plumage which gives them a stout appearance.
puffing noun (a) the action of the verb; an instance of this; (b) a puffed frill or trimming of frills: LME.