baff
/bæf/verb, noun
baff is spelled B-A-F-F: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 138,319th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, baff means “To hit or strike, especially with something flat or soft” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in baff?
| Letters | 4: B-A-F-F |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 21 million words; the 138,319th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is baff?
Baff appears about once in every 21 million words in written English, the 138,319th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce baff?
- /bæf/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-baff.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of baff
- baffs present, singular, he/she/it
- baffing participle, present
- baffed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does baff mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To hit or strike, especially with something flat or soft.
- 2
To strike the ground with the bottom of the club when taking a stroke.
- 3
archaicTo bark; yelp.
noun
- 1
Scotlandblank
noun
- 1
Initialism of B-cell activating factor.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does baff come from?
Probably from Scots baff, beff, bauf, probably from West Flemish baf, baffe (“a blow, slap in the face”). Compare also Old French baffe (“slap in the face”) (Modern French baffe), of imitative origin.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).