What does buff mean?
Buff is a versatile English word with several related strands of meaning. Most commonly today, it appears informally as a noun for a devoted enthusiast — a film buff or history buff is someone with deep, passionate knowledge of that subject. It also serves as an informal adjective describing a body that is fit and muscular, and as a verb meaning to polish a surface until smooth and shiny. The word's origin ties these threads together: buff comes from the soft yellowish leather once made from buffalo hide, prized for polishing metal and worn by soldiers, which gave rise to the idiom "in the buff," meaning naked. The enthusiast sense may derive from the uniform coats associated with volunteer firemen, long known as buffs. Flexible, friendly, and firmly established in everyday speech, buff is useful precisely because it spans objects, bodies, and passions.
A person who is highly knowledgeable about and enthusiastic about a particular subject.
"The museum tour was led by a genuine art buff."
Informal; typically used in compounds like "film buff" or "sports buff."
To polish a surface, especially metal or leather, by rubbing until it becomes smooth and shiny.
"She buffed the silver candlesticks until they gleamed."
(Informal) Physically fit, muscular, and attractively toned.
"He spends every morning at the gym trying to get buff."
A soft, yellowish leather made from the hide of a buffalo or similar animal.
"The craftsman worked the buff into a supple finish."
Used for the leather sense and informally for enthusiasts; never pluralized in the adjectival sense.
"The shop sells chamois buffs for polishing glass."
When you're "in the buff," you're literally dressed the way the word began — in nothing but polished buffalo hide.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of buff
Buff entered English in the early seventeenth century from French buffle, meaning buffalo, and first referred to the thick, soft leather made from buffalo hide. That leather was used both for polishing — hence the verb — and for military and fireman's uniforms, from which the modern sense of an enthusiastic devotee likely developed in nineteenth-century America. The adjective meaning muscular emerged later, in twentieth-century American slang, probably evoking the tanned, polished look of well-exercised skin.
Related word forms
How buff is actually used
All senses are informal except the leather sense, which is technical. The fitness sense arose in American slang in the 1980s and carries a positive, admiring connotation. The "in the buff" idiom is humorous rather than vulgar.
Easily confused with buff
"Bluff" means a steep cliff or an act of deception, whereas "buff" refers to polishing, enthusiasm for a subject, physical fitness, or bare skin.