puff (up)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for puff (up)
Verb
  • When Sam, 5, rolled up to the park in jeans and a blue fleece, Adeline took an interest.
    The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 June 2025
  • If rolling up the duo’s history — three No. 1s among nine entries — into his as a soloist, Michael would still rank first with a 39% rate of topping the Hot 100, just above Carey’s 38%.
    Gary Trust, Billboard, 20 June 2025
Verb
  • He’s also spoken out about death threats amid an NYPD hate crimes investigation into allegations that a man threatened to blow up his car.
    Josephine Stratman, New York Daily News, 20 June 2025
  • One of those blew up on its landing attempt while another was purposefully expended to get its payload to a higher orbital insertion.
    Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • Many stevia products sold in stores contain additional ingredients, including bulking agents and other sweeteners.
    Melissa Nieves, Verywell Health, 2 June 2025
  • Questions remain about Pearce’s upper-body strength and, given his natural build, the team that drafts him will have to find the sweet spot for bulking him up without reducing his explosiveness.
    Sean Hammond, Chicago Tribune, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • In the long term, budget experts warn that an aging population and rising health care costs mean entitlement spending will gobble an increasing percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).
    Kristina Karisch, The Hill, 19 June 2025
  • The gap between the top 75th percentile and the bottom 25th percentile performers increased by 1.5 times in Q1 2025 compared to a year earlier, with market leaders continuing to charge ahead while the bottom 20% to 30% of the sector continued to report a reduction in growth.
    Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 19 June 2025
Verb
  • The effect is to both collapse and distend time until all the souls in the book, most of them nameless anyway, exist at the same time, in the same place, forever.
    Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Isaiah was also malnourished and dehydrated at the time of his death, with his small and large intestines markedly distended.
    Sam Tabachnik, Denver Post, 22 Mar. 2017
Verb
  • Ukraine claimed to have shot down or neutralized 475 of the 537 drones and missiles fired, though Ukraine and Russia are known to inflate the effectiveness of their air defense capabilities.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 29 June 2025
  • The backlog has inflated the jail population by 13%, pushing it from 6,722 on Feb. 15 before the strike began to 7,605 as of Thursday, Vera Institute records show.
    Graham Rayman, New York Daily News, 29 June 2025
Verb
  • This happens when water in front of the tire builds up faster than the vehicle's weight can push water out of the way.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 19 June 2025
  • Filth Flies Little filth flies such as drain flies breed in sludge and decaying matter that can build up in drain pipes, says Oi.
    Arricca Elin SanSone, Southern Living, 18 June 2025
Verb
  • Refill and reuse is a rising movement: both a return to commonsense practices our grandparents knew — and a path forward toward innovation.
    Rachel Bustamante, Baltimore Sun, 28 June 2025
  • That, however, may be a blessing in disguise that allows Fatu to rise up the ranks on SmackDown even quicker than expected.
    Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 28 June 2025
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.

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Cite this Entry

“Puff (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puff%20%28up%29. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.

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