a. [ Cf. OD. blaf flat, broad, blaffaert one with a broad face, also, a boaster; or G. verblüffen to confuse, LG. bluffen to frighten; to unknown origin. ] 1. Having a broad, flattened front; as, the bluff bows of a ship. “Bluff visages.” Irving. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Rising steeply with a flat or rounded front. “A bluff or bold shore.” Falconer. [ 1913 Webster ]

Its banks, if not really steep, had a bluff and precipitous aspect. Judd. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Surly; churlish; gruff; rough. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Abrupt; roughly frank; unceremonious; blunt; brusque; as, a bluff answer; a bluff manner of talking; a bluff sea captain. “Bluff King Hal.” Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

There is indeed a bluff pertinacity which is a proper defense in a moment of surprise. I. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A high, steep bank, as by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face. [ 1913 Webster ]

Beach, bluff, and wave, adieu. Whittier. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An act of bluffing; an expression of self-confidence for the purpose of intimidation; braggadocio; as, that is only bluff, or a bluff. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A game at cards; poker. [ U.S. ] Bartlett. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bluffed p. pr. & vb. n. Bluffing. ] 1. (Poker) To deter (an opponent) from taking the risk of betting on his hand of cards, as the bluffer does by betting heavily on his own hand although it may be of less value. [ U. S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To frighten or deter from accomplishing a purpose by making a show of confidence in one's strength or resources; as, he bluffed me off. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To act as in the game of bluff. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Naut.) Built with the stem nearly straight up and down. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. One who bluffs. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. (Naut.) Built with the stem nearly straight up and down. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being bluff. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Having bluffs, or bold, steep banks. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Inclined to bo bluff; brusque. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. To make or become fluffy; to move lightly like fluff. Holmes. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

v. t. To make a mistake in the performance of; -- used mostly of lines in a drama; as, he fluffed the last line of the act. [ PJC ]

n. [ Cf. 2d Flue. √84. ] 1. Nap or down; flue[ 2 ]; soft, downy feathers. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: Anything light and downy, whose volume consists mostly of air, such as cotton or down. [ PJC ]

3. Something light and inconsequential; something not to be taken seriously; -- used commonly of literary or dramatic productions, and sometimes of people. [ PJC ]

4. A mistake, especially in the recitation of lines in a drama. [ PJC ]

a. [ Compar. Fluffier superl. Fluffiest. ] Pertaining to, or resembling, fluff or nap; soft and downy. “The carpets were fluffy.” Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

The present Barnacle . . . had a youthful aspect, and the fluffiest little whisker, perhaps, that ever was seen. Dickens.

-- Fluff"i*ness, n. [1913 Webster]

n. [ OE. lof, prob. a sort of timber by which the course of a ship was directed, perh. a sort of paddle; cf. D. loef luff, loeven to luff. The word is perh. akin to E. glove. Cf. Aloof. ] (Naut.) (a) The side of a ship toward the wind. (b) The act of sailing a ship close to the wind. (c) The roundest part of a ship's bow. (d) The forward or weather leech of a sail, especially of the jib, spanker, and other fore-and-aft sails. [ 1913 Webster ]

Luff tackle, a purchase composed of a double and single block and fall, used for various purposes. Totten. --
Luff upon luff, a luff tackle attached to the fall of another luff tackle. R. H. Dana, Jr. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Luffed p. pr. & vb. n. Luffing. ] 1. (Naut.) To turn the head of a vessel toward the wind; to sail nearer the wind; to turn the tiller so as to make the vessel sail nearer the wind. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) To flutter or shake from being aligned close to the direction of the wind; -- said of a sail. [ PJC ]

To luff round, or
To luff alee, to make the extreme of this movement, for the purpose of throwing the ship's head into the wind. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Arch.) See Louver. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ Prob. of imitative origin. ] To throw out, as smoke, dust, etc., in puffs. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. A puff, as of smoke from a pipe, or of dust from a puffball; a slight explosion, as of a small quantity of gunpowder. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A hairdresser's powder puff; also, the act of using it. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]