to puff out
5
3.5
- phrasal verb
- /pʌf aʊt/
:
inflar
- The child puffs out his chest with pride after winning the race.
- puffed out chest
- puffed out cheeks
- puffed out belly
It allows them to preserve themselves, buttress their shame, appear strong and powerful, almost like a bird puffing out its feathers so it can look bigger.
- It allows them to preserve themselves, buttress their shame, appear strong and powerful, almost like a bird puffing out its feathers so it can look bigger.
Examples
-
A cloud of white plaster dust puffed out around the boy's shoulders.
Fiction book (1993) -
"If you didn't know me, how old would I be?" Jesse puffed out his chest and straightened his posture.
Fiction book (2001) -
And I'm just going to use that on the outer part of my eye just to puff out that edge.
-
So the cardboard, for whatever reason, is puffing out here in hot weather.
-
The engine had started, and black smoke puffed out of its smokestack.
Fiction book (1997) -
A little wind of cold air puffed out and lifted the sweaty hair from her face.
Fiction book (1990) -
Now, he knelt in the backyard, steam puffing out from the hood of his heavy jacket.
Fiction book (2002) -
His face is reddening and puffing out, especially around his eyes, like a cloud you can't see through.
Fiction book (1998) -
He's taken a big sip so that his cheeks are puffed out with the liquid.
Fiction book (1997) -
Tufts of white smoke puff out of the kitchen chimney at the MacChesneys'.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
117
3.2
To become larger often by pressure or by soaking in water
44
2.9
To fill something with air so it becomes larger and round
28
3.9
Become larger and rounder because of liquid, injury, or illness
23
2.7
To fill something with air or gas until it gets larger
21
4.7
To increase quickly in size or amount
21
3.1
To come out quickly from a surface or container
20
4.1
To swell or make part of the body larger
19
4.9
To become swollen because of gas or fluid
16
3.5
To stick out from something like a wall or table
12
8.2
To swell because of pressure inside, for example a stomach or a balloon
7
2.9
To swell so that part of something sticks out
3
3.7
To stick out in a round shape, like a pocket or balloon
2
4.4
To make something larger or more full, for example by filling it with air
1
4.5
To make a pillow or cushion fuller by fluffing it
1
9.2
To become much larger, often by filling with air
To stick out from a surface like a bump
To stick out in a round shape, like a jacket or sail in the wind
To make someone or something rounder and fuller
To swell and become larger when heated or when it soaks up water
Antonyms
How Inflated
21
4.7
12
8.2
2
4.4
5
3.5
117
3.2
7
2.9
Surface Forms
Morphology
The sense 'to swell or expand outward' is directly built from 'puff' (to bulge or expand) plus the directional particle 'out' (away/outward), so the combined meaning is compositionally predictable. This verb+particle pattern is common in English and mirrored in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Puff out comes from the image of a short breath, a puff, that pushes air out and makes a sail, pastry, or a person's chest grow bigger. So puff out now means 'to swell' or 'to make something larger by filling it with air or pride'.