Meaning

A heavy breath; a grunt or sigh..

Definitions by Sense

1. A heavy breath; a grunt or sigh.
2. (figurative) A condition of anger, annoyance, disgust, etc.
3. (obsolete) One swelled with a false sense of importance or value; a boaster.
4. (draughts) The act of removing an opponent's piece as a forfeit for deliberately not taking a piece (often signalled by blowing on it).
5. (intransitive) To breathe heavily.
6. (intransitive) To say in a huffy manner.
7. (intransitive) To enlarge; to swell up.
8. (intransitive) To bluster or swell with anger, arrogance, or pride; to storm; to take offense.

Example Sentences

With a huff, he lifted the box onto the back of the truck.

in a huff

Such wickedness had never come into his head; but he had a certain pleasure in being the confidential friend of a very pretty woman; and when he heard that that pretty woman's husband was jealous, the pleasure was enhanced rather than otherwise. On that Sunday, as he had left the house in Curzon Street, he had told Stanbury that Trevelyan [the husband] had just gone off in a huff, which was true enough, and he had walked from thence down Clarges Street, and across Piccadilly to St. James's Street, with a jauntier step than usual, because he was aware that he himself had been the occasion of that trouble.

Tom Bower’s 2024 book, The House of Beckham, painted a rather snide portrait of the marriage, in which Beckham is constantly surrounded by lovelies, and Victoria is in a constant huff about it.

Lewd, shallow-brained huffs make atheism and contempt of religion the sole badge [...] of wit.

The run left him huffing and puffing.

Bread huffs.

This senseless arrogant conceit of theirs made them huff at the doctrine of repentance.

Word Forms

• huffs
• huffing
• huffed

Synonyms for huff

Related Words

When Should You Use Huff?

Use huff when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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