Pronunciations (3)
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/blʌf/
Pronunciation notes
- General-American
- Received-Pronunciation
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/blɐf/
Pronunciation notes
- Australia
- New-Zealand
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/blʊf/
Pronunciation notes
- Northern-England
Noun
An act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one’s position in order to intimidate or deceive; braggadocio.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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That is only bluff, or That is only a bluff.
"That's enough," announced Joolby with decision. "You've put up all the bluff you know, Carrados, and we've got you dog-beaten. […]"
An attempt to represent oneself as holding a stronger hand than one actually does.
Usage- Countable
- Uncountable
- Examples
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John’s bet was a bluff: he bet without even so much as a pair.
The card game poker.
Usage- US usage
- Dated
- Uncountable
- Examples
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BLUFF OR POKER [title of a chapter]
One who bluffs; a bluffer.
Usage- Countable
Pretense, excuse.
Usage- Countable
- Dated
- Slang
- Uncountable
Verb
To make a bluff; to give the impression that one’s hand is stronger than it is.
- Examples
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John bluffed by betting without even a pair.
To frighten, deter, or deceive with a false show of strength or confidence; to give a false impression of strength or temerity in order to intimidate or gain some advantage.
- Examples
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The government claims it will call an election if this bill does not pass. Is it truly ready to do so, or is it bluffing?
To perform or achieve by bluffing.
- Examples
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We bluffed our way past the guards.
To give false information intentionally, to lie (to someone), to deceive; to put on an act.
Usage- Manglish
- Singlish
- Examples
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Vinod, you want to bluff the doctor, your mother, father, uncle, auntie, CMPB all that I don't care. But you cannot bluff me.
Noun
A high, steep bank, for example by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face.
- Examples
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More examples (1)
In the sketch (which is taken about 75 Jovian days after that of the 2nd July) there is shown a dark copper-coloured streak along the southern margin of the south brown belt, butting on to a bluff-headed streak of cumulus cloud which may be the same remarkable bluff head noticed on July 2.
It seems there was a worm that slept upon a pile of treasure, which it had zealously heaped up under a stone bluff.
More examples (1)
Bounded to the north and west by mountains and river, to the east by river alone, and to the south by high bluffs that mark the beginning of the loess country, it is a compact and easily defended territory hospitable only to nomads. Today these lands are divided between the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region and the Ning-hsia Hui Autonomous Region. Under the Republic the Ho-t’ao and Pao-t’ou plains were included in Sui-yuan province, and the Ning-hsia area in Ning-hsia province.
Situated on bluffs above the Huangpu, a tributary of the Yangtze, Shanghai—which means ‘above the sea’—is sinking.
A small wood or stand of trees, typically poplar or willow.
Usage- Canadian-Prairies
Adjective
Having a broad, flattened front.
- Examples
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the bluff bows of a ship
Rising steeply with a flat or rounded front.
- Examples
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a bluff or bold shore
Its banks, if not really steep, had a bluff and precipitous aspect.
Surly; churlish; gruff; rough.
- Examples
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[…] he had a bluff, rough-and-ready face, all roughened and reddened and lined in his long travels.
Roughly frank and hearty in one's manners.
- Synonyms
- Examples
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a bluff answer
a bluff manner of talking
More examples (2)
a bluff sea captain
There is indeed a bluff pertinacity which is a proper defence in a moment of surprise.
Verb
To fluff, puff or swell up.
- Examples
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More examples (3)
Not a sparrow on the cottage thatch, where the chimney's warmth had thawed the snow, that did not seem to have his great coat on, so bluffed out were the feathers, and not a frozen-out duck who did not glance up at the icicles hanging to the roof, and quack a prayer for rain.
[W]hen the bare boughs of a tree intervened between her and the rising bright but deep red sun, frosted as the twigs were, on them sat a merry flock of sparrows, the feathers on their breasts bluffed out, as if they had donned warm winter spencers to shield them from the biting blast.
I remember one idle bright afternoon here when Phillip bluffed out his little chest, sneaking expectant glances back at me and Cammy, until she "restrained" him from bickering with that beagle.
Adjective
very steep; having a prominent and almost vertical front
- Examples
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a bluff headland
where the bold chalk cliffs of England rise
More examples (1)
a sheer descent of rock
bluntly direct and outspoken but good-natured
- Examples
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a bluff but pleasant manner
a bluff and rugged natural leader
Noun
a high steep bank (usually formed by river erosion)
- Broader terms
pretense that your position is stronger than it really is
- Broader terms
- Examples
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his bluff succeeded in getting him accepted
the act of bluffing in poker; deception by a false show of confidence in the strength of your cards
- Synonyms
- Broader terms
Verb
deceive an opponent by a bold bet on an inferior hand with the result that the opponent withdraws a winning hand
- Synonyms
frighten someone by pretending to be stronger than one really is