to ruff
- verb
- /rʌf/
- Jargon
- She expertly ruffed her partner's lead to win the trick.
Examples
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You should avoid ruffing too early in the game.
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If you cannot follow suit, you can ruff by playing your trump card instead.
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If you have no hearts left, you may ruff with a spade.
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Don't ruff!
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She decided to ruff the card because she had no hearts.
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During the card game, she had to ruff because she no longer had any hearts.
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He decided to ruff the trick with a club since he couldn't follow the suit.
Synonyms
Play a card from the trump suit to win a trick
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
To ruff in a card game means to play a trump when you cannot follow suit; think of it as 'putting on' a trump to win the trick, which is why the verb means to take the trick with a trump.