puff

/pʌf/

//pʌf// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"puff" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“puff” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #13,992) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#13,992
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
4
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.

Corpus desk

Index EN-puff · puff · English

puff · rank #13,992 · 4 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,992
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 4 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH pun

Nearest frequency peer: pun (+1 rank slots)

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.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “puff”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “puff” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

puff vs put
50% similar
puff vs pup
50% similar
puff vs pun
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for puff
PropertyValue
Headwordpuff
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/pʌf/
Letters4
Frequency rank#13,992
Misspellings tracked4
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “puff”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).pufflands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “pun” (#13,993), “prevailing” (#13,989), “prevail” (#13,988). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “puff” is #13,992. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for puff is neighbouring look-alikes ("put", "pup", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /pʌf/. Frequency #13,992 among 4,417 “P” headwords. 15 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 4 likely wrong-spelling variants for puff, with forms such as "pfuf", "ppuff", and "puf". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "put", "pup", "pun", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English puff, puf, from Old English pyf (“a blast of wind, puff”), from Proto-West Germanic *puf(f)- (“to blow, puff”), of imitative origin. Cognate with Dutch puf (“puff, wind, fart”), Middle Low German puf, pof (“puff”). The correct English form is puff, spelled P-U-F-F.

Definition

  1. 1
    A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.
  2. 2
    The ability to breathe easily while exerting oneself.
  3. 3
    A small quantity of gas or smoke in the air.
  4. 4
    A sudden but small gust of wind, smoke, etc.
  5. 5
    An act of inhaling smoke from a cigarette, cigar or pipe.
  6. 6
    The drug cannabis.
  7. 7
    A flamboyant or alluring statement of praise.
  8. 8
    A portion of fabric gathered up so as to be left full in the middle.
  9. 9
    A light cake filled with cream, cream cheese, etc.
  10. 10
    A puffball.
  11. 11
    A powder puff.
  12. 12
    A puffer, one who is employed by the owner or seller of goods sold at auction to bid up the price; an act or scam of that type.
  13. 13
    A region of a chromosome exhibiting a local increase in diameter.
  14. 14
    Life.
  15. 15
    Synonym of poof: a gay man; especially one who is effeminate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how puff appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. puff of smoke
  2. to every puff of wind a slave

Etymology

From Middle English puff, puf, from Old English pyf (“a blast of wind, puff”), from Proto-West Germanic *puf(f)- (“to blow, puff”), of imitative origin. Cognate with Dutch puf (“puff, wind, fart”), Middle Low German puf, pof (“puff”).

This word in other languages

bocanada(Español)souffle(Français)Hauch(Deutsch)sopro(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • pfuf
  • ppuff
  • puf
  • upff

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of puff - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

pfuf2ppuff1puf1upff2
Edit distance from "puff"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "puff"?
"puff" is spelled P-U-F-F. The IPA pronunciation is /pʌf/.
What does "puff" mean?
As a noun, "puff" means: A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth.
What words are commonly confused with "puff"?
"puff" is commonly confused with "put", "pup", "pun". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "puff"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "puff" is /pʌf/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "puff"?
From Middle English puff, puf, from Old English pyf (“a blast of wind, puff”), from Proto-West Germanic *puf(f)- (“to blow, puff”), of imitative origin. Cognate with Dutch puf (“puff, wind, fart”), Middle Low German puf, pof (“puff”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "puff", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

plum#13,984slid#14,024mash#13,954lush#13,951

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list