puffball

noun

puff·ball ˈpəf-ˌbȯl

: any of various globose and often edible fungi (especially family Lycoperdaceae) that discharge mature spores in a smokelike cloud when pressed or struck

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Across his grotesque torso are moist, rubbery pustules that look a bit like puffball mushrooms (which, in the hands of a good chef, actually are quite tasty). —

Don Steinberg, WSJ, 11 Feb. 2023 Kirby and the Forgotten Land takes that core copy mechanism and gives it the Super Mario 3D World treatment, allowing the pink puffball to explore an interesting world in all three dimensions. —

Dallas News, 24 Mar. 2022 Thompson assumed the role of Dionne, and wore a puffball skirt and a white shirt layered beneath a black top, with black tights and patent slingbacks. —

Alice Cary, Vogue, 6 July 2022 Kirby and the Forgotten Land launched last Friday, bringing the pink puffball into a 3D open-world environment for the first time. —

Jacob Siegal, BGR, 29 Mar. 2022 Other choices suggested that a more modern, efficient glamor is in, and the era of the large sweeping puffball of a dress may be over. —

Rachel Tashjian, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 Mar. 2022 Daudert's personal favorite ways to eat the tasty fungi are shiitake on frozen pizzas, lion's mane mushrooms in stir fry and puffball cubed as a meat-alternative. —

Samantha Hendrickson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 23 Feb. 2022 Tully watched the video of the incident that injured Noel, a fox-red puffball on very short legs. —

Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2021 Fraga had first met the plant in late spring, when the rains coax out a single pale yellow puffball of a blossom. —

Gregory Barber, Wired, 17 June 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'puffball.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1649, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of puffball was in 1649

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Puffball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puffball. Accessed 26 Mar. 2023.

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Kids Definition

puffball

noun

puff·ball ˈpəf-ˌbȯl

: any of various often edible globe-shaped fungi that release ripe spores in a cloud resembling smoke when they are touched

Medical Definition

puffball

noun

puff·ball ˈpəf-ˌbȯl

: any of various globose and often edible fungi (especially family Lycoperdaceae) that discharge ripe spores in a smokelike cloud when pressed or struck