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bluff 1  (blŭf)
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Tweet v. bluffed, bluff·ing, bluffs v.intr. 1. To engage in a false display of confidence or aggression in order to deceive or intimidate someone: The management debated if there would really be a strike or if the union was bluffing. 2. To make a display of aggression, as by charging or baring the teeth, as a means of intimidating another animal. 3. To try to mislead opponents in a card game by heavy betting on a poor hand or by little or no betting on a good one. v.tr. 1. To deceive or intimidate (someone) by a false display of confidence or aggression. 2. To try to mislead (opponents) in a card game by heavy betting on a poor hand or by little or no betting on a good one. 3. To start but not carry out (an action) as a means of deceiving or intimidating another: The pitcher bluffed a throw to first base. n. Idiom: The act or practice of bluffing. bluff (one's) way To deceive someone or accomplish something by making a false display. [Origin unknown.] bluffa·ble adj. bluffer n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
n. A steep headland, promontory, riverbank, or cliff. adj. bluff·er, bluff·est 1. Having or showing a rough and blunt but not unkind manner: "the great big bluff guests who told bawdy jokes and got up early to watch the sun rise" (Erin McGraw). 2. Having a broad, steep front: the boat's bluff bow. [Probably from obsolete Dutch blaf or Middle Low German blaff, broad.] bluffly adv. bluffness n. |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
