What does "huff" mean?
Huff: To treat with insolence and arrogance; to chide or rebuke with insolence; to hector; to bully. You must not presume to huff us. Echard.
Additional senses
- 2.(Draughts) To remove from the board (the piece which could have captured an opposing piece). See Huff, v. i., 3.
- 3.To enlarge; to swell up; as, bread huffs.
- 4.To bluster or swell with anger, pride, or arrogance; to storm; to take offense. THis senseless arrogant conceit of theirs made them huff at the doctrine of repentance. South.
- 5.(Draughts) To remove from the board a man which could have captured a piece but has not done so; -- so called because it was the habit to blow upon the piece.
- 6.A swell of sudden anger or arrogance; a fit of disappointment and petulance or anger; a rage. "Left the place in a huff." W. Irving.
- 7.A boaster; one swelled with a false opinion of his own value or importance. Lewd, shallow-brained huffs make atheism and contempt of religion the sole badge . . . of wit. South. To take huff, to take offence. Cowper.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00