buffet
/bəˈfeɪ/noun, verb
buffet is spelled B-U-F-F-E-T: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, buffet means “A counter or sideboard from which food and drinks are served or may be bought” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of buffet is buffets.
How many letters and syllables are in buffet?
| Letters | 6: B-U-F-F-E-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.5 times per million words; the 14,106th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is buffet?
Buffet appears 3.5 times per million words in written English, the 14,106th 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 buffet?
- UK /ˈbʊf.eɪ/
- UK /ˈbʌf.eɪ/
- US /bəˈfeɪ/
As a noun (“A blow or cuff with or as if with the hand, or by any other…”): /ˈbʌf.ɪt/, /ˈbʌf.ət/.
Buffet has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-buffet.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-buffet.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-buffet2.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with buffet?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as buffet from its last stressed vowel (/eɪ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of buffet
- buffets plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- buffeting participle, present
- buffetting participle, present, rare
- buffeted participle, past
- buffetted participle, past, rare
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does buffet mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A counter or sideboard from which food and drinks are served or may be bought.
- 2
Food laid out in this way, to which diners serve themselves.
We'll be serving supper buffet style.
- 3
A small low stool; a hassock.
- 4
A blow or cuff with or as if with the hand, or by any other solid object or the wind.
October 30, 1795, Edmund Burke, letter to Lord Auckland those planks of tough and hardy oak that used for years to brave the buffets of the Bay of Biscay
- 5
The vibration of an aircraft when flying in or approaching a stall, caused by separation of airflow from the aircraft's wings.
verb
- 1
To strike with a buffet; to cuff; to slap.
- 2
To aggressively challenge, denounce, or criticise.
- 3
To affect as with blows; to strike repeatedly; to strive with or contend against.
to buffet the billows
- 4
To deaden the sound of (bells) by muffling the clapper.
- 5
To struggle, contend; also in figurative or extended use: to move as if driven by force.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Buffet in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | buffet |
| German | Anrichte, Büfett , Buffet , schlagen, stoßen, einen Puff versetzen |
| Portuguese | bufê |
| Spanish | bufé, bufet, ambigú |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does buffet come from?
Inherited from Middle English buffet (“stool”), from Middle French buffet (“side table”), from Old French buffet, of unknown origin. The modern pronunciation is remodelled after modern French buffet.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).