puffin

noun

puf·​fin ˈpə-fən 

: any of several seabirds (genus Fratercula) of the northern hemisphere having a short neck and a deep grooved parti-colored laterally compressed bill

Illustration of puffin

Examples of puffin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Water safaris Ribsafari in Vestmannaeyjar offers tours of the puffin colonies on Elliðaey and Bjarnaey, where visitors can observe the impressive seabirds in their natural habitat. —Mia Taylor, Boston Herald, 7 Sep. 2025

In a 2024 study, researchers for the first time demonstrated the role that artificial light plays in guiding puffins – which spend most of their lives out at sea. —New Atlas, 5 Sep. 2025

Itinerary highlights Circle the island from Reykjavik with a puffin-rich call at Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar, where lava fields meet sea cliffs. —Jill Schildhouse, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

Grimsey is a key destination in Iceland for spotting nesting puffins. —Jeri Clausing, AFAR Media, 7 Aug. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English puffoun, poffin, pophyn "young of the shearwater Puffinus puffinus collected as food," probably borrowed from an unattested Middle Cornish cognate of Breton (Léon dialect) pocʼhan, pogan "puffin," (Basse-Cornouaille dialect) bocʼhanig (diminutive), probably a derivative of bocʼh "cheek" (Middle Cornish bogh), of uncertain origin

Note: Breton bocʼh and Middle Cornish bogh may descend from a British Celtic borrowing from Latin bucca "lower part of the cheeks, jaw, puffed-out cheeks," unless this word is itself a Celtic loan.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing puffin

• Atlantic puffin

Rhymes for puffin

• akin
• auxin
• buckskin
• chagrin
• deerskin
• foreskin
• fuchsin
• herein
• kingpin
• linchpin
• pigskin
• pinyin

Kids Definition

puffin

noun

puf·​fin ˈpəf-ən 

: any of several seabirds that are related to the auks and have a short thick neck and a deep grooved bill marked with different colors