faff
/fæf/noun, verb
faff is spelled F-A-F-F: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 97,057th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, faff means “An overcomplicated task, especially one perceived as a waste of time” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of faff is faffs.
How many letters and syllables are in faff?
| Letters | 4: F-A-F-F |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 10 million words; the 97,057th 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 faff?
Faff appears about once in every 10 million words in written English, the 97,057th 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 faff?
- /fæf/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-faff.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of faff
- faffs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- faffing participle, present
- faffed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does faff mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
CommonwealthIrelandUKslangAn overcomplicated task, especially one perceived as a waste of time.
Adjusting this television is a bit of a faff.
- 2
A state of confused or frantic activity.
She's in a total faff about tonight's dinner party.
- 3
UKobsoleteA puff of smoke; a gust of wind.
verb
- 1
colloquialTo blow in puffs, blow gently.
- 2
archaicTo move (something) with a puff of air, to blow away.
- 3
AustraliaIrelandUKTo waste time on an unproductive activity.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Faff in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense an overcomplicated task:
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 faff come from?
Originally imitative of wind or puffs of air (see verb senses "to blow in puffs", "to move with a puff of air"). The noun is formed from the verb by conversion.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).