Search results for 'bluff':

bluff¹ verb (bluffed, bluffing) tr & intr to deceive or try to deceive someone by pretending to be stronger, cleverer or more determined, etc than one really is. noun an act of bluffing. bluff it out colloq to keep up a deception, in order to avoid a difficult or embarrassing outcome. call someone's bluff to challenge or expose their bluff, by making them prove the genuineness of their claim, threat or promise, etc.
ETYMOLOGY: 19c: originally used in poker, meaning to conceal (by confident behaviour) the fact that one has poor cards: from Dutch bluffen to brag or boast.

bluff² adj (bluffer, bluffest) 1 said of a person, character, manner, etc: rough, cheerful and honest; outspoken and hearty. 2 usually said of a cliff or of the bow of a ship: broad, steep and upright. noun a steep cliff or high bank of ground. bluffly adverb. bluffness noun.
ETYMOLOGY: 17c in sense 2: perhaps from obsolete Dutch blaf broad or flat.