puffy

1 of 2

adjective

ˈpə-fē 

puffier; puffiest

1

a

: swollen in size : bloated

puffy lips

… Hagrid gazed at him for a moment through his puffy, blackened eyes, apparently taken aback.

—J. K. Rowling

also : somewhat fat : chubby

Fatty Hicks, the shrill and puffy son of Nat, flapped his hand at the beautiful stranger …

—Sinclair Lewis

b

: having a puffed up form or appearance : soft, light, and fluffy

puffy white clouds

a puffy bun

puffy hair

It is very difficult to shake hands when you're wearing ski mittens. They're so puffy and fat it's like shaking hands with giant marshmallows.

—Ann M. Martin

Not far away is a Georgian bakery where we found long, puffy loaves of wonderfully crisp bread.

—Jeffrey Steingarten

2

: blowing in puffs : gusty

a strong, puffy wind

3

: characterized by vanity or ostentation : pompous, showy

puffy rhetoric

All of my small, puffy pride at being the skipper of a tiny unit in a great nation victorious over the forces of evil seemed to blow away before the drunken racket of those three thousand men.

—Louis Auchincloss

puffiness

ˈpə-fē-nəs 

noun

Symptoms include nausea and vomiting, muscle weakness, headache and disorientation, as well as bloating and puffiness in the face and fingers.

—Susan Gilbert

puffiness

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noun

puff·​i·​ness ˈpəfēnə̇s 

-fin-

plural -es

: the quality or state of being puffy

Examples of puffy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

For casual eats go to Bistro Bastardo, a Mexican burrito spot that always had a queue outside, as well as Úvozna, a burger joint near the Water Tanks, or Zaza for puffy sourdough pizzas. —Jaymi McCann, TheWeek, 16 June 2026

For the nuptials, Beatrice wore a floor-length bronze gown with puffy sleeves. —Staff Author, InStyle, 15 June 2026

In May, Rodrigo performed at a Spotify event in Barcelona, wearing a puffy floral top and matching bloomers, an ensemble that resembled a baby-doll dress, or, more specifically, the kind of dainty frock a Victorian toddler might have donned to waddle the gardens under her nanny’s parasol. —Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 15 June 2026

The door opened and Miles descended, immediately setting the tone with her outfit, a puffy, sparkly white dress with a matching ribbon tied in her braids, not unlike what a bride-to-be might wear for her bachelorette party. —Danielle Dorsey, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1598, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for puffy

• buffy
• fluffy
• scruffy
• stuffy