buff Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an ardent follower and admirer
    devotee; lover; fan.
  2. noun a soft thick undyed leather from the skins of e.g. buffalo or oxen
  3. noun bare skin; naked
    • swimming in the buff
  4. noun a medium to dark tan color
    yellowish brown; caramel brown; caramel; raw sienna.
  5. noun an implement consisting of soft material mounted on a block; used for polishing (as in manicuring)
    buffer.
  6. verb strike, beat repeatedly
    buffet.
    • The wind buffeted him
  7. verb polish and make shiny
    burnish; furbish.
    • buff the wooden floors
    • buff my shoes
  8. adjective satellite of the yellowish-beige color of buff leather

WordNet

Buff noun
Etymology
OE. buff, buffe, buff, buffalo, F. buffle buffalo. See Buffalo.
Definitions
  1. A sort of leather, prepared from the skin of the buffalo, dressed with oil, like chamois; also, the skins of oxen, elks, and other animals, dressed in like manner. "A suit of buff." Shak.
  2. The color to buff; a light yellow, shading toward pink, gray, or brown.
    A visage rough, Deformed, unfeatured, and a skin of buff. Dryden.
  3. A military coat, made of buff leather. Shak.
  4. (Med.) The grayish viscid substance constituting the buffy coat. See Buffy coat, under Buffy, a.
  5. (Mech.) A wheel covered with buff leather, and used in polishing cutlery, spoons, etc.
  6. The bare skin; as, to strip to the buff. Colloq.
    To be in buff is equivalent to being naked. Wright.
Buff adjective
Definitions
  1. Made of buff leather. Goldsmith.
  2. Of the color of buff.
Buff transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To polish with a buff. See Buff, n., 5.
Buff transitive verb
Etymology
OF. bufer to cuff, buffet. See Buffet a blow.
Definitions
  1. To strike. Obs. B. Jonson.
Buff noun
Etymology
See Buffet.
Definitions
  1. A buffet; a blow; -- obsolete except in the phrase "Blindman's buff."
    Nathless so sore a buff to him it lent That made him reel. Spenser.
Buff adjective
Etymology
Of uncertain etymol.
Definitions
  1. Firm; sturdy.
    And for the good old cause stood buff, 'Gainst many a bitter kick and cuff. Hudibras.

Webster 1913