Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

puffing

/pˈʌfɪŋ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.83 in modern English

Syllables: puff-ing
IPA: /pˈʌfɪŋ/

16

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

present participle and gerund of puff

verb

Leaving a car engine running unattended, especially in cold weather to warm it up.

American usage

noun

The act of one who puffs.

noun

A puffy ornament.

noun

An opinion or judgment, often made by the seller of property to a potential buyer, that is not made as a representation of fact.

Example Sentences

"It's called "puffing," when drivers start their car and then leave it unattended while running."
"the puffings and pantings of a man running to catch a train"
"Evening dresses are trimmed in a variety of ways, with puffings of crape, fringes, and ornaments, of the richest patterns[…]"

Usage

American usage

Inflected Forms

puffings (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

puffery

Synonyms

huffing snorting

Rhymes With

stuffing bluffing roughing huffing snuffing rebuffing ruffing

Questions

How do you pronounce puffing?: The recorded pronunciation is /pˈʌfɪŋ/.
What does puffing mean?: present participle and gerund of puff

How to pronounce puffing

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “puffing”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pˈʌfɪŋ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “puffing”.
Repeat and practice — Say “puffing” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.