puff
verb/pʌf/
/pʌf/
Verb Forms
Idioms Phrasal Verbs| present simple I / you / we / they puff | /pʌf/ /pʌf/ |
| he / she / it puffs | /pʌfs/ /pʌfs/ |
| past simple puffed | /pʌft/ /pʌft/ |
| past participle puffed | /pʌft/ /pʌft/ |
| -ing form puffing | /ˈpʌfɪŋ/ /ˈpʌfɪŋ/ |
- [intransitive, transitive] to be smoking a cigarette, pipe, etc.
- puff (at/on something) He puffed (away) on his pipe.
- puff something I sat puffing my cigar.
- She puffed furiously at her cigarette.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- furiously
- contentedly
- happily
- …
- at
- on
Definitions on the go
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- [transitive, intransitive] to make smoke or steam blow out in clouds; to blow out in clouds
- puff something (out) Chimneys were puffing out clouds of smoke.
- puff (out) Steam puffed out.
- [intransitive, transitive] (+ speech) (informal) to breathe loudly and quickly, especially after you have been running synonym gasp
- I was starting to puff a little from the climb.
Extra Examples- Far behind us, puffing and blowing, came Matt.
- He came puffing up the hill.
- She was puffing quite hard by the time she reached the office.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- hard
- loudly
- along
- from
- up
- …
- huff and puff
- puff and pant
- puffing and blowing
- …
- [intransitive] + adv./prep. to move in a particular direction, sending out small clouds of smoke or steam
- The train puffed into the station.
Word OriginMiddle English: imitative of the sound of a breath, perhaps from Old English pyf (noun), pyffan (verb).
Idioms
See puff in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarybe puffed up with pride, etc.
- to be too full of pride, etc.
- He felt grown-up, puffed up with self-importance.
huff and puff (informal)
- to breathe in a noisy way because you are very tired
- Jack was huffing and puffing to keep up with her.
- to make it obvious that you are annoyed about something without doing anything to change the situation
- After much huffing and puffing, she finally agreed to help.
More Like This Rhyming pairs in idiomsRhyming pairs in idioms
puff and pant
(also informal puff and blow)
- to breathe quickly and loudly through your mouth after physical effort
- Eventually, puffing and panting, he arrived at the gate.
- She puffed and panted behind the others.
More Like This Alliteration in idiomsAlliteration in idioms- belt and braces
- black and blue
- born and bred
- chalk and cheese
- chop and change
- done and dusted
- down and dirty
- in dribs and drabs
- eat somebody out of house and home
- facts and figures
- fast and furious
- first and foremost
- forgive and forget
- hale and hearty
- hem and haw
- kith and kin
- mix and match
- part and parcel
- puff and pant
- to rack and ruin
- rant and rave
- risk life and limb
- short and sweet
- signed and sealed
- spick and span
- through thick and thin
- this and that
- top and tail
- tried and tested
- wax and wane
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puff