bluff 1. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

bluff¹

PRONUNCIATION:	blf
VERB:	Inflected forms: bluffed, bluff·ing, bluffs
TRANSITIVE VERB:	1. To mislead or deceive. 2. To impress, deter, or intimidate by a false display of confidence. 3. Games To try to mislead (opponents) in a card game by heavy betting on a poor hand or by little or no betting on a good one.
INTRANSITIVE VERB:	To engage in a false display of strength or confidence.
NOUN:	1. The act or practice of bluffing. 2. One that bluffs.
ETYMOLOGY:	Probably from Dutch bluffen, from Low German.
OTHER FORMS:	bluffa·ble —ADJECTIVE bluffer —NOUN


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.