buff 1 of 2

noun

ˈbəf How to pronounce buff (audio)
Definition of buffnext
1
as in lover
a person with a strong and habitual liking for something he's such a film buff that he owns over 3,000 movies

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in nude
the state of having no clothes on one's body protected by a fully enclosed backyard, the couple would frequently sunbathe in the buff

Synonyms & Similar Words

buff

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to rub
to make smooth by friction she learned to buff semiprecious stones in order to make her own jewelry

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to polish
to make smooth or glossy usually by repeatedly applying surface pressure the janitor buffed the lobby floor until it shone

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of buff
Noun
Cars & Coffee gathering Gillie’s Auto Lounge, a private automotive club, is hosting a series of Cars & Coffee gatherings for car buffs to meet at 3341 Hancock San Diego. — Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026 Bart Bart Starr led the Packers to victories in the first two Super Bowls ever played, making this moniker ideal for football history buffs. — Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 1 Sep. 2026
Verb
Rapinchuk adds that a Magic Eraser is a useful cleaning tool for buffing out scuffs and marks. — Madeline Buiano, Martha Stewart, 24 Aug. 2026 Start by pushing back your cuticles, lightly buffing your nails, and filing the tips for a nice and tidy canvas. — Kara Jillian Brown, InStyle, 8 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for buff
Recent Examples of Synonyms for buff
  1. lover
  2. nude
  3. rub
  4. polish
  5. sucker
  6. nudity
  7. sand
  8. smooth
Noun
  • The supporting cast is well stocked with character actors who bring humor and pathos to this gaggle of spouses, friends, lovers and bootleggers.
    — Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Orr’s trail repairs come at a time when outdoors lovers are feeling particularly protective of public lands.
    — Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of lover
Noun
  • That’s how many options Fwee Lip&Cheek Blurry Pudding Pot has, across nudes, corals, pinks, reds, mauves, and roses.
    — Sarah Han, Allure, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Her lids were washed with brown and taupe hues, creating a smokey eye, while her lips were lined in that same brown and punctuated with nude in the center for contrast.
    — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of nude
Verb
  • Drain, then rub beans between fingers to remove as many skins as possible.
    — Alessandra Signorelli, Vogue, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Hollidge and Eshaghpour were captivated by Frank’s use of straw, which becomes more or less lustrous depending on how hard it’s rubbed (bringing out the material’s natural silica) and can be dyed to achieve different hues.
    — Jill Singer, Curbed, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of rub
Verb
  • From tailored and polished to embellished, the skirt became a canvas for personal expression.
    — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 28 Sep. 2026
  • In this installment, author Min Jin Lee recounts a factchecking trip to Sydney to polish American Hagwon, the followup to her books Free Food for Millionaires and Pachinko.
    — Matt Ortile, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of polish
Noun
  • These sucker shoots can quickly form a thicket of stems that are unsightly, inherently weak, and prone to storm damage if allowed to mature.
    — Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Sep. 2026
  • One was a regional distributor of garbage trucks, street sweepers, and sewer suckers for municipalities.
    — Eric Zwick, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of sucker
Noun
  • Running for 12 seasons, spanning more than a decade, NYPD Blue was famous (and infamous) thanks to its many controversial topics and scenes of nudity.
    — Keith Langston, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Sep. 2026
  • But even some of them might balk at its callow psychology and interminably dull plotting that no amount of gratuitous, unengaging violence or nudity can overcome.
    — Vikram Murthi, IndieWire, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of nudity
Verb
  • The roughly 7,300-square-foot residence has been adapted for contemporary living without completely sanding away what came before.
    — Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Bass delves into the ease (or difficulty) of loving people in terms anyone could grasp, sanding down the uniqueness of Cyrus’s viewpoint.
    — Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of sand
Verb
  • Beyond attempting to smooth the industry’s many ruffled feathers, Hollywood’s newest mogul must now also wrestle down an astonishing $80 billion in debt accrued as a result of this highly leveraged merger.
    — Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Researchers solved this issue by creating a dual processing technique that smooths the material surface and manages how the crystals form.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of smooth

Phrases Containing buff

Browse Nearby Words

buds
buff
buffalo
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Buff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/buff. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of heterodox

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 2

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All