bluff 1
(blŭf)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. The act or practice of bluffing.
Idiom: bluff (one's) way To deceive someone or accomplish something by making a false display.
[Origin unknown.]
bluff′a·ble adj.
bluff′er n.
bluff 2
(blŭf)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.]
bluff′ly adv.
bluff′ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.