# bluff

> English word · Noun · IPA /blʌf/ · frequency rank #13,288

## Definitions
1. An act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one’s position in order to intimidate or deceive; braggadocio.
2. An attempt to represent oneself as holding a stronger hand than one actually does.
3. The card game poker.
4. One who bluffs; a bluffer.
5. Pretense, excuse.

## Etymology
Probably from Dutch bluffen (“to brag”), from Middle Dutch bluffen (“to make something swell; to bluff”); or from the Dutch noun bluf (“bragging”). Related to German verblüffen (“to stump, perplex”).

## Easily confused with
- **buff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluff-vs-buff)
- **blur** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluff-vs-blur)
- **Blum** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluff-vs-blum)
- **blunt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluff-vs-blunt)
- **blush** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluff-vs-blush)
- **buffy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluff-vs-buffy)
- **buffs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluff-vs-buffs)
- **blurb** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluff-vs-blurb)
- **blurs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluff-vs-blurs)
- **bluffs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bluff-vs-bluffs)
- **BFF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/bff-vs-bluff)
- **blue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blue-vs-bluff)
- **biff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/biff-vs-bluff)
- **blues** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/blues-vs-bluff)
- **Banff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/banff-vs-bluff)

## Common misspellings (6)
`bbluff`, `blfuf`, `blluff`, `bluf`, `bulff`, `lbuff`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bluff