# puffer

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈpʌfɚ/ · frequency rank #45,019

## Definitions
1. Someone or something that puffs.
2. Any of several poisonous fish, of the family Tetraodontidae, which have the ability to inflate their bodies when in danger.
3. A manually-operated inhaler.
4. A train; a locomotive, usually one that is steam-powered.
5. A Clyde puffer, a kind of small ship.
6. A car left idling to warm up, emitting steam from the rear.
7. An insulated puffy jacket, such as a down jacket.
8. A person who gives exaggerated praise to a product, literary work, etc.
9. One who is employed by the owner or seller of goods sold at auction to bid up the price; a by-bidder.
10. An alchemist; so named from their constant attendance to the bellows of their furnaces.
11. The common, or harbour, porpoise.
12. A kier used in dyeing.
13. A soffietta.
14. A finite pattern that moves like a spaceship but leaves a trail of debris.
15. A security device used to detect traces of explosives or drugs on a person, by blowing puffs of air that pick up tiny particles.

## Etymology
From puff + -er.
The cellular automata definition is a clipping of puffer train.

## Easily confused with
- **puffy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puffer-vs-puffy)
- **puffs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puffer-vs-puffs)
- **punter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puffer-vs-punter)
- **pusher** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puffer-vs-pusher)
- **putter** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puffer-vs-putter)
- **puffin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puffer-vs-puffin)
- **puller** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puffer-vs-puller)
- **puff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puff-vs-puffer)
- **prefer** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/prefer-vs-puffer)
- **puffed** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/puffed-vs-puffer)

## Common misspellings (7)
`pfufer`, `ppuffer`, `pufefr`, `pufer`, `pufferr`, `puffre`, `upffer`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/puffer