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in the buff

in the buff

6 9.3
Not wearing any clothes
  • idiom
  • NSFW
translation icon : desnudo
  • Thank God we don't see Camila in the buff!
  • seeing her in the buff
  • walking around in the buff

And Cuomo, the younger brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is seemingly seen in a screen grab screen grab strutting his stuff in the buff.

Examples

  • Who cared what a middle-aged German woman might look like in the buff?

    Fiction book (1998)
  • "I'm sure some people wouldn't mind if you pranced around in the buff, my dear.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • When he looked up, she was standing there in the buff with the office door shut.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Joe comes into the room in the buff.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • I know it's ridiculous to dislike her for parading around in the buff.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • Another pretty boy in his kitchen, in the buff, squeezing citrus and singing Sondheim.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • As soon as I was in the buff, I jumped in front of him with a loud "Ta-da!" and the entire room burst into fits of hysterical laughter.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • It's quite liberating to walk around in the buff during warm summer days.

  • She decided to sunbathe in the buff to get an even tan.

  • He felt a bit shy being in the buff at the beach, but it was just the two of us.

Synonyms

naked
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
982 1.0

Not wearing any clothes on the body

is the informal way to say the same idea in casual speech
nude
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
89 3.7

Not wearing any clothes

is the informal expression used instead of this neutral plain wording
raw
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
20 8.5

Completely without clothes

is the informal phrase rather than this single casual word
stark naked
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
7 4.6

Completely without any clothes

is the informal way to say the same state without heavy emphasis
unclothed
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
4 3.7

Not wearing any clothes

is the casual informal phrase rather than the neutral formal wording
bare-assed
vsin the buff
  • Offensive
2 9.6

Completely without clothes with the bottom showing

is the broader informal phrase that does not single out body parts
bare-ass
vsin the buff
  • Offensive
2 9.9

Completely without clothes

is the everyday informal phrase that is less coarse and more polite
without a stitch
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
2 9.0

Not wearing any clothes

is the general informal phrase that is less idiomatically emphatic
naked as a jaybird
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
2 9.5

Having no clothes on

is the standard informal phrase instead of this colorful simile
unclad
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
1 7.5

Not wearing any clothes

is the colloquial informal phrase rather than this concise formal term
peeled
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
9.9

Completely without clothes on

is the informal phrase used generally rather than that slang term
in the raw
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
8.8

A person who has no clothes on

is the informal expression used more commonly outside this idiom
starkers
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
9.9

A person who has no clothes on

is the general informal phrase not specific to British dialect
in the altogether
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
9.9

Completely without clothes

is the informal phrase used broadly rather than mainly as an adverb
in your birthday suit
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
8.7

Completely naked

is the informal expression that is more neutral than this playful idiom
clothesless
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
8.4

Not wearing any clothes

is the common informal phrase rather than this plain neutral wording
undressed
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
1.9

A person who is not wearing any clothes

is the informal phrase that generally implies being completely without clothes
exposed
vsin the buff
1.8

Not covered by clothes and showing skin

focuses specifically on the informal state of having no clothes on a person
uncovered
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
1.9

Not wearing clothes on a part of the body

is limited to the informal human lack of clothing rather than general uncovering
naked as the day one was born
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
7.6

Completely without clothes, as when someone is born

is the plain informal phrase rather than this stronger simile
naked as the day you were born
vsin the buff
  • NSFW
7.4

Completely without clothes like at birth

is the regular informal expression rather than this personal simile

Antonyms

1 1.0

Wearing special clothes for an occasion, for example a party

How Clothed

full-dress
  • Formal
6.9
dressed
1 1.0
half-clothed
  • NSFW
1 4.6
scantily clad
  • NSFW
10 6.5
in the buff
  • NSFW
6 9.3

Surface Forms

in the buff positive

Morphology

in + the + buff

The meaning ‘naked’ is not transparently built from the constituents: 'in' and 'the' are grammatical markers and 'buff' does not commonly denote nakedness in its literal senses known to learners. The phrase is an idiomatic lexicalized expression whose meaning is unpredictable from the parts, so a B1 learner who only knows the words would likely not infer the correct sense.

Etymology

In the buff probably comes from the word buff, which meant a pale brown leather or colour like bare skin; someone 'in the buff' was seen as being in that skin colour with no clothes. So today in the buff means 'naked'.