pouf
/pʊf/noun, verb, interjection
pouf is spelled P-O-U-F: 4 letters. It appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 109,062nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, pouf means “A headdress for women popular in 18th century France” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of pouf is poufs.
How many letters and syllables are in pouf?
| Letters | 4: P-O-U-F |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 13 million words; the 109,062nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like |
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 pouf?
Pouf appears about once in every 13 million words in written English, the 109,062nd 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 pouf?
- /pʊf/
- /puːf/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-poof.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with pouf
Sounds like: poof (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of pouf
- poufs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- pouffe
- poufing participle, present
- poufed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pouf mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A headdress for women popular in 18th century France.
- 2
A high hair style for women consisting of a roll or pad of hair, worn up.
- 3
Part of an item of clothing consisting of gathered fabric in a bunch.
- 4
A low cushioned seat with no back; a padded footstool.
- 5
A short skirt gathered into a rounded puffy shape; a puffball.
- 6
A ball of fabric (such as nylon monofilament netting) used for washing (as an alternative to a flannel, washcloth, sponge, etc.).
- 7
datedA small saddle cushion worn atop the buttocks (as a fashion trend – similar to a bustle).
- 8
Alternative form of puff
verb
- 1
To make poufy or bouffant.
to pouf the hair
interjection
- 1
Onomatopoeia indicating a cloud of smoke or wind; caused by a deflating object, or a magical disappearance.
Pouf, he was gone.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pouf in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense padded footstool:
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 pouf come from?
From French pouf, pouff, of imitative origin; compare puff.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).