Huff vs. Puff

Huffnoun

A heavy breath; a grunt or sigh.

‘With a huff, he lifted the box onto the back of the truck.’;

Puffnoun

(countable) A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.

Huffnoun

An expression of anger, annoyance, disgust, etc.

Puffnoun

(uncountable) The ability to breathe easily while exerting oneself.

‘out of puff’;

Huffnoun

(obsolete) One swelled with a false sense of importance or value; a boaster.

Puffnoun

(countable) A small quantity of gas or smoke in the air.

‘puff of smoke’;

Huffnoun

(draughts) The act of removing an opponent's piece as a forfeit for deliberately not taking a piece (often signalled by blowing on it).

Puffnoun

(countable) A sudden gust.

Huffverb

(intransitive) To breathe heavily.

‘The run left him huffing and puffing.’;

Puffnoun

An act of inhaling smoke from a cigarette, cigar or pipe.

Huffverb

(intransitive) To say in a huffy manner.

Puffnoun

(countable) A flamboyant or alluring statement about an object's quality.

Huffverb

(intransitive) To enlarge; to swell up.

‘Bread huffs.’;

Puffnoun

A puffer, one who is employed by the owner or seller of goods sold at auction to bid up the price; an act or scam of that type.

Huffverb

(intransitive) To bluster or swell with anger, arrogance, or pride; to storm; to take offense.

Puffnoun

A puffball.

Huffverb

(transitive) To treat with arrogance and insolence; to chide or rebuke rudely; to bully, to hector.

Puffnoun

A powder puff.

Huffverb

To vex; to offend.

Puffnoun

The drug cannabis.

Huffverb

(transitive) To inhale psychoactive inhalants.

Puffnoun

(countable) A light cake filled with cream, cream cheese, etc.

‘cream puff’;

Huffverb

To remove an opponent's piece as a forfeit for deliberately not taking a piece (often signalled by blowing on it).

Puffnoun

syn of poof: a male homosexual, especially an effeminate one.

Huffverb

To swell; to enlarge; to puff up; as, huffed up with air.

Puffnoun

Life.

Huffverb

To treat with insolence and arrogance; to chide or rebuke with insolence; to hector; to bully.

‘You must not presume to huff us.’;

Puffverb

(intransitive) To emit smoke, gas, etc., in puffs.

Huffverb

To remove from the board (the piece which could have captured an opposing piece). See Huff, v. i., 3.

Puffverb

(intransitive) To pant.

Huffverb

To enlarge; to swell up; as, bread huffs.

Puffverb

To advertise.

Huffverb

To bluster or swell with anger, pride, or arrogance; to storm; to take offense.

‘This senseless arrogant conceit of theirs made them huff at the doctrine of repentance.’;

Puffverb

To blow as an expression of scorn.

Huffverb

To remove from the board a man which could have captured a piece but has not done so; - so called because it was the habit to blow upon the piece.

Puffverb

To swell with air; to be dilated or inflated.

Huffnoun

A swell of sudden anger or arrogance; a fit of disappointment and petulance or anger; a rage.

Puffverb

To breathe in a swelling, inflated, or pompous manner; hence, to assume importance.

Huffnoun

A boaster; one swelled with a false opinion of his own value or importance.

‘Lewd, shallow-brained huffs make atheism and contempt of religion the sole badge . . . of wit.’;

Puffverb

To drive with a puff, or with puffs.

Huffnoun

a state of irritation or annoyance

Puffverb

To repel with words; to blow at contemptuously.

Huffverb

inhale recreational drugs

Puffverb

To cause to swell or dilate; to inflate.

‘a bladder puffed with air’;

Huffverb

blow hard and loudly;

‘he huffed and puffed as he made his way up the mountain’;

Puffverb

To inflate with pride, flattery, self-esteem, etc.; often with up.

Puffverb

To praise with exaggeration; to flatter; to call public attention to by praises; to praise unduly.

Puffnoun

A sudden and single emission of breath from the mouth; hence, any sudden or short blast of wind; a slight gust; a whiff.

Puffnoun

Anything light and filled with air. Specifically: (a) A puffball. (b) kind of light pastry. (c) A utensil of the toilet for dusting the skin or hair with powder.

Puffnoun

An exaggerated or empty expression of praise, especially one in a public journal.

Puffverb

To blow in puffs, or with short and sudden whiffs.

Puffverb

To blow, as an expression of scorn; - with at.

‘It is really to defy Heaven to puff at damnation.’;

Puffverb

To breathe quick and hard, or with puffs, as after violent exertion.

‘The ass comes back again, puffing and blowing, from the chase.’;

Puffverb

To swell with air; to be dilated or inflated.

Puffverb

To breathe in a swelling, inflated, or pompous manner; hence, to assume importance.

‘Then came brave Glory puffing by.’;

Puffverb

To drive with a puff, or with puffs.

‘The clearing north will puff the clouds away.’;

Puffverb

To repel with words; to blow at contemptuously.

‘I puff the prostitute away.’;

Puffverb

To cause to swell or dilate; to inflate; to ruffle with puffs; - often with up; as, a bladder puffed with air.

‘The sea puffed up with winds.’;

Puffverb

To inflate with pride, flattery, self-esteem, or the like; - often with up.

‘Puffed up with military success.’;

Puffverb

To praise with exaggeration; to flatter; to call public attention to by praises; to praise unduly.

Puffadjective

Puffed up; vain.

Puffnoun

a short light gust of air

Puffnoun

a light inflated pastry or puff shell

Puffnoun

exaggerated praise (as for promotional purposes)

Puffnoun

bedding made of two layers of cloth filled with stuffing and stitched together

Puffnoun

a soft spherical object made from fluffy fibers; for applying powder to the skin

Puffnoun

thick cushion used as a seat

Puffnoun

a slow inhalation (as of tobacco smoke);

‘he took a puff on his pipe’; ‘he took a drag on his cigarette and expelled the smoke slowly’;

Puffnoun

forceful exhalation through the nose or mouth;

‘he gave his nose a loud blow’; ‘he blew out all the candles with a single puff’;

Puffverb

smoke and exhale strongly;

‘puff a cigar’; ‘whiff a pipe’;

Puffverb

suck in or take (air);

‘draw a deep breath’; ‘draw on a cigarette’;

Puffverb

breathe noisily, as when one is exhausted;

‘The runners reached the finish line, panting heavily’;

Puffverb

make proud or conceited;

‘The sudden fame puffed her ego’;

Puffverb

praise extravagantly;

‘The critics puffed up this Broadway production’;

Puffverb

speak in a blustering or scornful manner;

‘A puffing kind of man’;

Puffverb

to swell or cause to enlarge,

‘Her faced puffed up from the drugs’;

Puffverb

blow hard and loudly;

‘he huffed and puffed as he made his way up the mountain’;

Puffadjective

gathered for protruding fullness;

‘puff sleeves’;

Puffnoun

a short, explosive burst of breath or wind

‘a puff of wind swung the weathercock round’;

Puffnoun

the sound of air or vapour escaping suddenly

‘the whistle and puff of steam’;

Puffnoun

a small quantity of vapour or smoke, emitted in one blast

‘the fire breathed out a puff of blue smoke’;

Puffnoun

an act of drawing quickly on a pipe, cigarette, or cigar

‘he took a puff of his cigar’;

Puffnoun

breath

‘after a chase of over three miles he had finally run out of puff’;

Puffnoun

a light pastry case, typically one made of puff pastry, containing a sweet or savoury filling

‘a jam puff’;

Puffnoun

a review of a work of art, book, or theatrical production, especially an excessively complimentary one

‘the publishers sent him a copy of the book hoping for a puff’;

Puffnoun

an advertisement, especially one exaggerating the value of the goods advertised

‘extravagant statements are regarded as salesman's puff’; ‘the distinction between a trader's puff and a statement having legal significance is a fine one’;

Puffnoun

a gathered mass of material in a dress or other garment.

Puffnoun

a rolled protuberant mass of hair

‘her hair was drawn up into a series of padded puffs and curves’;

Puffnoun

an eiderdown

‘the snowy beds were piled with plump pillows and puffs’;

Puffnoun

a powder puff

‘she sent her a box of dusting powder with a swansdown puff’;

Puffverb

breathe in repeated short gasps

‘exercises that make you puff’;

Puffverb

move with short, noisy breaths or bursts of air or steam

‘the train came puffing in’;

Puffverb

smoke a pipe, cigarette, or cigar

‘he puffed on his pipe contentedly’;

Puffverb

blow (dust, smoke, or a light object) with a quick breath or blast of air

‘he puffed out smoke through his long cigarette holder’;

Puffverb

move through the air in short bursts

‘his breath puffed out like white smoke’;

Puffverb

swell or become swollen

‘when he was in a temper, his cheeks puffed up and his eyes shrank’; ‘he suddenly sucked his stomach in and puffed his chest out’;

Puffverb

be conceited

‘he was never puffed up about his writing’;

Puffverb

advertise with exaggerated or false praise

‘publishers have puffed the book on the grounds that it contains new discoveries’;