Dictionary
bluff
Pronunciation: (bluf), [key]
—adj., -er, -est,
—n.
—
adj.
1. good-naturedly direct, blunt, or frank; heartily outspoken:
a big, bluff, generous man.
2. presenting a bold and nearly perpendicular front, as a coastline:
a bluff, precipitous headland.
3. Naut.(of the bow of a vessel) having a full, blunt form.
—
n.
1. a cliff, headland, or hill with a broad, steep face.
2. North Dakota, Wisconsin, and the Canadian Prairie Provinces.a clump or grove of trees on a prairie or other generally treeless area.
bluff
Pronunciation: (bluf), [key]—
v.t.
1. to mislead by a display of strength, self-confidence, or the like:
He bluffed me into believing that he was a doctor.
2. to gain by bluffing:
He bluffed his way into the job.
3. Poker.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.
1. 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.
2. a person who bluffs; bluffer:
That big bluff doesn't have a nickel to his name.
3. call someone's bluff, 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.
