What does bluff mean?
Word: Bluff
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Bluff means a high, steep bank, usually beside a river or the sea. As a verb, to bluff means to pretend you know or have something when you do not.
Synonyms: headland
How do you spell bluff?
Syllables: bluff
Tricky part: The word ends in a double f; bluf, with only one, is the usual slip.
Watch out for: bluf, bluph
Memory tip: Short words with one vowel and an f sound at the end usually double the f: stuff, sniff, puff and bluff.
Idioms and Phrases
- call someone's bluff: To ask someone to prove what they claim because you think they are pretending. Example: "Isla said she could eat ten pancakes, so her brother called her bluff and kept them coming."
Bluff in a sentence
Example 1: The old fort stands on a bluff above the river.
Example 2: From the top of the bluff, we watched fishing boats come in.
Example 3: The path along the bluff was narrow and winding.
Fun Fact
A city in the US state of Iowa is named Council Bluffs after the high bluffs along the Missouri River.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) canyon
b) valley
c) bloff
d) plateau
Show answer
c) bloff. The vowel in bluff is u, the short sound in cup.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word: bluff
a) plain
b) cliff
c) meadow
d) valley
Show answer
b) cliff. A bluff is a steep cliff or bank.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
lfufb
a) fluff
b) blush
c) bluff
d) gruff
Show answer
c) bluff. Only two f's are in the jumble, ruling out fluff, and there is no s, h, g or r for blush or gruff.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
We climbed the bluff to watch the fishing boats come into the harbur.
a) bluff
b) climbed
c) fishing
d) harbur
Show answer
d) harbur. Harbour ends in our in British English.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A fort built on a bluff would be ____.
a) on flat, marshy ground
b) high above the land around it
c) half under the river water
d) hidden in a deep valley
Show answer
b) high above the land around it
2. Rina said she had finished the puzzle, but she was only bluffing. She was ____.
a) pretending
b) complaining
c) explaining
d) apologising
Show answer
a) pretending
