bluff: Meaning and Definition of
bluff
Pronunciation: (bluf), [key]
— adj., n. -er, -est,
—adj.
- good-naturedly direct, blunt, or frank; heartily outspoken: a big, bluff, generous man.
- presenting a bold and nearly perpendicular front, as a coastline: a bluff, precipitous headland.
- (of the bow of a vessel) having a full, blunt form.
—n.
- a cliff, headland, or hill with a broad, steep face.
- a clump or grove of trees on a prairie or other generally treeless area.
bluff
Pronunciation: (bluf), [key]
— v.t.
- to mislead by a display of strength, self-confidence, or the like: He bluffed me into believing that he was a doctor.
- to gain by bluffing: He bluffed his way into the job.
- to deceive by a show of confidence in the strength of one's cards.
—v.i.
- to mislead someone by presenting a bold, strong, or self-confident front: That open face makes it impossible for him to bluff.
—n.
- an act or instance or the practice of bluffing: Her pathetic story was all a bluff to get money from us. His assertive manner is mostly bluff.
- a person who bluffs; bluffer: That big bluff doesn't have a nickel to his name.
- to expose a person's deception; challenge someone to carry out a threat: He always said he would quit, so we finally called his bluff.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.