bluff

verb

/blʌf/

[intransitive, transitive]

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they bluff	/blʌf/ /blʌf/
he / she / it bluffs	/blʌfs/ /blʌfs/
past simple bluffed	/blʌft/ /blʌft/
past participle bluffed	/blʌft/ /blʌft/
-ing form bluffing	/ˈblʌfɪŋ/ /ˈblʌfɪŋ/

Idioms Phrasal Verbs

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bluff (something) to try to make somebody believe that you will do something that you do not really intend to do, or that you know something that you do not really know
- I don't think he'll shoot—I think he's just bluffing.
Topics Personal qualitiesc2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Bluff is used with these nouns as the object:
way
See full entry
Word Originverb late 17th cent. (originally in the sense ‘blindfold, trick’): from Dutch bluffen ‘brag’, or bluf ‘bragging’. The current sense (originally US, mid 19th cent.) originally referred to bluffing in the game of poker.

Idioms

bluff it out

to get out of a difficult situation by continuing to tell lies, especially when people suspect you are not being honest

bluff

noun

/blʌf/

Idioms

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[uncountable, countable] an attempt to trick somebody by making them believe that you will do something when you really have no intention of doing it, or that you know something when you do not, in fact, know it
- It was just a game of bluff.
- He said he would resign if he didn't get more money, but it was only a bluff.
see also double bluff
[countable] a steep cliff or slope, especially by the sea or a river

Word Originnoun sense 1 late 17th cent. (originally in the sense ‘blindfold, trick’): from Dutch bluffen ‘brag’, or bluf ‘bragging’. The current sense (originally US, mid 19th cent.) originally referred to bluffing in the game of poker. noun sense 2 early 17th cent. (as an adjective, originally in nautical use): of unknown origin.

Idioms

call somebody’s bluff

to tell somebody to do what they are threatening to do, because you believe that they will not be cruel or brave enough to do it
- She was tempted to call his bluff, hardly able to believe he’d carry out his threat.

bluff

adjective

/blʌf/

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(of people or their manner) very direct and cheerful, with good intentions, although not always very polite
- Beneath his bluff exterior he was a sensitive man.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
Bluff is used with these nouns:
exterior
See full entry
Word Originadjective early 18th cent. (‘surly, abrupt in manner’): figurative use of bluff ‘steep cliff or slope’. The current positive connotation dates from the early 19th cent.

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