buffalo
Plural: buffalo, buffaloes, buffalos
Noun
- A large, ox-like animal, often found in North America or Asia.
- large shaggy-haired brown bison of North American plains
- a city on Lake Erie in western New York (near Niagara Falls)
- meat from an American bison
- any of several Old World animals resembling oxen including, e.g., water buffalo; Cape buffalo
- An animal from the subtribe Bubalina, also known as true buffalos, such as the Cape buffalo, Syncerus caffer, or the water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis.
- A related North American animal, the American bison, Bos bison.
- Ellipsis of buffalo robe.
- The buffalo fish (Ictiobus spp.).
- A nickel.
- A looter during the Civil War.
- A large or stupid person.
- An obese person, usually a woman.
- A black male.
- Ellipsis of American buffalo (“gold bullion coin”).
Verb
Verb Forms: buffaloed, buffaloing, buffaloes
- To intimidate, confuse, or overwhelm, often by a show of force.
- intimidate or overawe
- To hunt buffalo.
- To outwit, confuse, deceive, or intimidate.
- To pistol-whip.
Examples
- He tried to buffalo his opponent into thinking he had no vowels, a classic Scrabble bluff.
- Playing BUFFALO on a double word score felt like a stampede of points.
Origin / Etymology
Borrowed from Portuguese or Spanish búfalo (“buffalo”), from Late Latin būfalus, from Latin būbalus, from Ancient Greek βούβαλος (boúbalos, “antelope, wild ox”). Doublet of bubale and buffle.
Synonyms
American bison, American buffalo, Bison bison, Old World buffalo, browbeat, buffalo, buffle, bulldoze, bully, cow, dastardize, daunt, dishearten, do down, domineer, drive, hector, intimidate, menace, strong-arm
Scrabble Score: 15
buffalo: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Wordbuffalo: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
buffalo: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary