- A soft, thick, undyed leather made chiefly from the skins of buffalo, elk, or oxen.
- A military uniform coat made of such leather.
- A pale, light, or moderate yellowish pink to yellow, including moderate orange-yellow to light yellowish brown.
- Informal. Bare skin: swimming in the buff.
- A piece of soft material, such as velvet or leather, often mounted on a block and used for polishing.
- Made or formed of buff: a buff jacket.
- Of the color buff.
- buff·er, buff·est. Slang. Having good muscle tone; physically fit and trim: buff athletes lifting weights at the gym.
- To polish or shine with a piece of soft material.
- To soften the surface of (leather) by raising a nap.
- To make the color of buff.
[From obsolete buffle, buffalo, from French buffle, from Late Latin būfalus. See buffalo.]
buff2 (bŭf)

n. Informal.
One who is enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a subject: a Civil War buff.
[From the buff-colored uniform worn by New York volunteer firemen around 1920, originally applied to an enthusiast of fires and firefighting.]






