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Glite Dictionary
powderpuff

powderpuff

1 6.1
A small soft pad for putting powder on the face
  • noun
  • /ˈpaʊdərˌpʌf/
translation icon : puff
  • The makeup artist recommended a large powderpuff for even application of the foundation.

Examples

  • Another case involved a girl injured in a powderpuff football game.

    Academic text (1995)

  • I mean, one guild gets the combination of really hard abilities; the second guild gets the powderpuff abilities.

    Blog text (32)

  • Burnside has arms and shoulders like a dwarfed Goliath, and legs so thin his small feet look like powderpuffs attached to toothpicks.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • She applied loose powder to her face with a powderpuff to achieve a flawless finish.

  • To touch up her makeup, Maria used a soft powderpuff made of cotton.

Synonyms

puff
vspowderpuff
22 3.2

A soft pad used to apply makeup or clean skin

is a small rounded fluffy pad made specifically for applying facial powder

How Soft

powderpuff
1 6.1
sponge
77 1.0

Surface Forms

powderpuff singular
powderpuffs plural

Morphology

powderpuff = powder + puff (semi-transparent) = powder + puff

The components 'powder' and 'puff' are clear, but the specific use as a makeup applicator is not immediately obvious.

Etymology

The word powderpuff combines powder and puff, so imagine a small 'puff' of soft material used to put on 'powder' on the face. So a powderpuff is a soft, rounded pad for applying powder to the skin.