chuff
/t͡ʃʌf/
"chuff" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“chuff” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 5
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Surly; annoyed; displeased; disgruntled.
Corpus desk
Index EN-chuff · chuff · English
chuff · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MID 5 letters
- VOW-1 1 vowel
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "C" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | chuff |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /t͡ʃʌf/ |
| Letters | 5 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “chuff” in English
Rare enough to double-check
chuff is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /t͡ʃʌf/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for chuff, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.
Etymologically, the entry records: 15th century, dialectal, from Middle English chuffe (“a rustic, boor”), in noun sense “stupid fellow”. Adjective sense “surly, displeased” from 1832. The correct English form is chuff, spelled C-H-U-F-F.
Definition
- 1Surly; annoyed; displeased; disgruntled.
- 2stupid; churlish; loutish.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how chuff appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
He refused to subscribe, he who had always given so largely to the cause; he was chuff, haughty, overbearing, and seemed bent upon antagonising every prominent suggestion that was made.
So I set out in the clear cold night, and began to think that great lords and ladies are not at all as well off as poor people thinks, with so much fine meat and drink wasted about them, and they having no wish for them; for I felt very chuff and uncomfortable, and was glad that I could not be in the same way again for six weeks and more to come.
Etymology
15th century, dialectal, from Middle English chuffe (“a rustic, boor”), in noun sense “stupid fellow”. Adjective sense “surly, displeased” from 1832.
Synonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.