Cuff Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Usage

Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms cuff 1 American [kuhf] / kʌf /

noun

1. a fold or band serving as a trimming or finish for the bottom of a sleeve.

2. a turned-up fold, as at the bottom of a trouser leg.

3. the part of a gauntlet or long glove that extends over the wrist.

4. a separate or detachable band or piece of fabric worn about the wrist, inside or outside of the sleeve.

5. an elasticized, ribbed, or reinforced band at the top of a sock or stocking.

6. a band of leather or other material, wider than a collar, sewed around the outside of the top of a shoe or boot to serve as a trimming or finish.

7. a handcuff.

   I accessorized my costume with cuffs, a badge, and a toy gun.

8. Anatomy. rotator cuff.

9. Furniture. a horizontal strip of veneer used as an ornament on a leg.

10. Medicine/Medical. an inflatable wrap placed around the upper arm and used in conjunction with a device for recording blood pressure.

verb (used with object)

1. to make a cuff or cuffs on.

   to cuff a pair of trousers.

2. to put handcuffs on.

   The officer was quick to cuff the suspect and read him his rights.

3. Slang. to start an exclusive relationship with.

   You’ve gotta cuff her if you want to keep her.

idioms

1. on the cuff,

   1. with the promise of future payment; on credit.

   2. without charge; with no payment expected.

      He enjoyed his meal the more because it was on the cuff.

2. off the cuff,

   1. extemporaneously; on the spur of the moment.

      She made those comments off the cuff, and they came back to haunt her later.

   2. unofficially or informally.

      I'm telling you this strictly off the cuff.

cuff 2 American [kuhf] / kʌf /

verb (used with object)

1. to strike with the open hand; beat; buffet.

noun

1. a blow with the fist or the open hand; buffet.

cuff 1 British / kʌf /

noun

1. the part of a sleeve nearest the hand, sometimes turned back and decorative

2. the part of a gauntlet or glove that extends past the wrist

3. Also called (in eg Britain): turn-up. the turned-up fold at the bottom of some trouser legs

4. informal improvised; extemporary

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 cuff 2 British / kʌf /

verb

1. (tr) to strike with an open hand

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

1. a blow of this kind

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 cuff More Idioms

1. see off the cuff; on the cuff.

Usage

What else does cuff mean? Cuff can refer to the ends of sleeves or rolled pants, handcuffs, or, in the world of modern love, the act of going steady with someone over the winter months.

Etymology

Origin of cuff1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English cuffe “mitten”; perhaps akin to Old English cuffie “cap,” from Medieval Latin cuphia; coif 2

Origin of cuff2

First recorded in 1520–30; origin uncertain; perhaps from a Scandinavian language; compare Norwegian, Swedish dialect kuffa “to push, shove”; also German cant kuffen “to thrash”

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt suddenly announced it at the 1943 Casablanca conference as an aim of the World War II Allies, he did so off the cuff.

From MarketWatch

Laughing even harder, he put the dripping glass on the kitchen table and wiped his mouth on his cuff.

From Literature

Then he knelt, retrieved mittens from my bag, and gently slid them over my hands, carefully adjusting the cuffs under my sweater sleeves.

From Literature

The thought of those cuffs made me smile, and I found my hand going instinctively to my hip, where a set had hung during my simulation.

From Literature

If I were to name it more plainly, I might call it Beatrix Potter weather: damp cuffs, garden gates, the feeling that something is pushing up just beneath the soil.

From Salon

Related Words

• belt
• sock

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.