puffing (up)

present participle of puff (up)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for puffing (up)
Verb
  • Love Island was heavily represented at the event, with Rob Rausch and Caleb McDaniel (rolling up in a trio with Josh Richards), JaNa Craig, and Leah Kateb and Miguel Harichi all in attendance.
    — Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Tired of all of those hot, humid storms rolling up from the tropics and making October in Los Angeles feel like August in Miami?
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Your phone is blowing up with text messages urging you to vote.
    — Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 3 Nov. 2026
  • The bombshell ended up blowing up in the face of Rogers, the GOP and Stevens’ own face after a car crash of a CNN primetime interview with Anderson Cooper went way off the rails.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 2 Nov. 2026
Verb
  • China is building up its military and AI capabilities despite limited access to advanced computer chips.
    — Josh Boak, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Boone said the final few steps for Judge’s return include building up his workload because he has been sidelined for over three months with a stress fracture of the first rib on his right side.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Moon’s priorities for another term included expanding students’ access to mental health services, improving teacher recruitment and retention, and increasing career technical education opportunities.
    — Daniel Lempres, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Figma is increasing its focus on cybersecurity, said Dylan Field, Figma's co-founder and CEO.
    — Jordan Novet, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026
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

“Puffing (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puffing%20%28up%29. Accessed 8 Nov. 2026.

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