- [uncountable, countable] an attempt to trick somebody by making them believe that you will do something when you really have no intention of doing it, or that you know something when you do not, in fact, know it
- It was just a game of bluff.
- He said he would resign if he didn't get more money, but it was only a bluff.
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- [countable] a steep cliff or slope, especially by the sea or a river
Word Originnoun sense 1 late 17th cent. (originally in the sense ‘blindfold, trick’): from Dutch bluffen ‘brag’, or bluf ‘bragging’. The current sense (originally US, mid 19th cent.) originally referred to bluffing in the game of poker. noun sense 2 early 17th cent. (as an adjective, originally in nautical use): of unknown origin.
Idioms
See bluff in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarycall somebody’s bluff
- to tell somebody to do what they are threatening to do, because you believe that they will not be cruel or brave enough to do it
- She was tempted to call his bluff, hardly able to believe he’d carry out his threat.
Check pronunciation:
bluff