Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A woman's hairstyle popular in the 1700s, characterized by high rolled puffs.
  • noun A part of a garment, such as a dress, that is gathered into a puff.
  • noun A rounded ottoman.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A plaited piece of gauze worn in the hair, forming part of a head-dress of the second half of the eighteenth century; hence, a head-dress in which such pieces of gauze, and the like, were used, and to which were sometimes added very elaborate ornaments, as figures of men and animals, or even a ship or a windmill.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A soft cushion, esp. one circular in shape and not, like a pillow, of bag form, or thin at the edges.
  • noun A piece of furniture like an ottoman, generally circular and affording cushion seats on all sides.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • interjection Onomatopoeia indicating a cloud of smoke or wind; caused by a deflating object, or a magical disappearance.
  • noun A ball of fabric (such as nylon monofilament netting) used for washing (as an alternative to a flannel, washcloth, sponge, etc.).
  • noun dated A small saddle cushion worn atop the buttocks (as a fashion trend – similar to a bustle).
  • noun Alternative form of puff.
  • noun Alternative form of poof.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun offensive term for an openly homosexual man
  • noun thick cushion used as a seat

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French, from Old French, interjection used for a fall, of imitative origin.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Imitative.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From French pouf, pouff, of imitative origin; compare puff.

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Examples

  • This delightful Drops pouf is a chair made of an inner tube covered with recycled upholstery material.

    READER TIP: Colorful Drops Pouf Seating Made of Recycled Upholstery Material | Inhabitat 2010

  • In the 1980s, a French haute couturier named Christian Lacroix set the fashion world on fire with a curious invention called the pouf skirt.

    Call It Recession Chic 2009

  • Weary travelers of the space-time continuum can rest on occasional furniture like a woolen ottoman called a pouf stool $590.

    NYT > Home Page By ALEXANDRA JACOBS 2011

  • Just the post I needed to see right now, as I'm thinking about making a couple 1950s dresses, and probably will need a crinoline under them to make them fully "pouf" out.

    Petticoats and Crinolines and Slips, Oh My! - A Dress A Day 2008

  • They stood and watched the spade; it went in with a crunching sound; it came out slowly with a sort of "pouf," and a load of rich, black earth slid off it into the world of sunshine.

    The Extra Day Algernon Blackwood 1910

  • Holding the finished product in her hand for the first time, Snooki, 23, surveys her book's jacket, emblazoned with her famous "pouf" hairdo.

    USATODAY.com News 2011

  • Holding the finished product in her hand for the first time, Snooki, 23, surveys her book's jacket, emblazoned with her famous "pouf" hairdo.

    USATODAY.com News 2011

  • I mean the "pouf" is, like, Jersey four or five years ago.

    StyleList Beth Cooney Fitzpatrick 2010

  • I mean the "pouf" is, like, Jersey four or five years ago.

    StyleList Beth Cooney Fitzpatrick 2010

  • Note the victorian "pouf" in the space, just like the "pouf" in the Picasso show at the PMA!

    theartblog roberta 2010

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