buffet
buffet Lexical Profile
buffet Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A meal consisting of several dishes set out on a table or counter from which guests serve themselves.
"The hotel offers a complimentary breakfast buffet with fresh fruit, pastries, and hot dishes."
A piece of dining room furniture with cupboards and drawers, having a flat top used for storing dishes and serving food.
"She arranged the antique silver candlesticks on top of the mahogany buffet in the dining room."
A blow or strike, especially with the hand, or a shock caused by a hostile force or misfortune.
"The ancient coastal fortress had withstood the relentless buffets of winter storms for centuries."
• verb
To strike repeatedly and violently, or to knock about (especially of wind, waves, or adverse circumstances).
"Fierce gale-force winds continued to buffet the small fishing boat as it neared the harbor."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Buffet" is a heteronym with two distinct pronunciations and origins: when referring to a self-service meal or sideboard, it is pronounced /bəˈfeɪ/ or /ˈbʊfeɪ/; when meaning a physical blow or to strike repeatedly, it is pronounced /ˈbʌfɪt/.
• Rhymes for buffet
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
The culinary and furniture sense was borrowed in the 18th century from French buffet, meaning a sideboard or bench. The sense of a blow or to strike repeatedly entered Middle English from Old French bufet, a diminutive of bufe ('a blow' or 'puff of wind').