Chaff Definition & Meaning

American

British

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms chaff 1 American [chaf, chahf] / tʃæf, tʃɑf /

noun

1. the husks of grains and grasses that are separated during threshing.

2. straw cut up for fodder.

3. worthless matter; refuse.

4. the membranous, usually dry, brittle bracts of the flowers of certain plants.

5. Also called window. Military. strips of metal foil dropped by an aircraft to confuse enemy radar by creating false blips.

chaff 2 American [chaf, chahf] / tʃæf, tʃɑf /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to mock, tease, or jest in a good-natured way; banter.

   She chaffed him for working late. They joked and chaffed with each other.

noun

1. good-natured ridicule or teasing; raillery.

chaff 1 British / tʃɑːf /

noun

1. the mass of husks, etc, separated from the seeds during threshing

2. finely cut straw and hay used to feed cattle

3. something of little worth; rubbish (esp in the phrase separate the wheat from the chaff )

4. the dry membranous bracts enclosing the flowers of certain composite plants

5. thin strips of metallic foil released into the earth's atmosphere to confuse radar signals and prevent detection

"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 chaff 2 British / tʃɑːf /

noun

1. light-hearted teasing or joking; banter

"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

verb

1. to tease good-naturedly; banter

"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

Other Word Forms

• chaffer noun
• chaffingly adverb
• chaffless adjective
• chafflike adjective
• chaffy adjective
• unchaffed adjective
• unchaffing adjective

Etymology

Origin of chaff1

before 1000; Middle English chaf, Old English ceaf; cognate with Middle Low German, Dutch kaf

Origin of chaff2

First recorded in 1640–50; perhaps from chaff 1

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.

Put simply, while the biggest stocks in the AI trade still dominate index performance with the sheer heft of their market values, investors are separating the wheat from the chaff in the recent pullback.

From Barron's

“Our sense remains that the core of the AI thesis remains intact and would probably survive a continued separating of the wheat from the chaff in the frothier parts of the equity market.”

From Barron's

It's more about whether you actually believe in something — and boy, oh boy, has the wheat been separated from the chaff in that respect.

From Salon

Seven hundred reviewers will attempt to separate the wheat from the chaff, while 1,300 arts industry professionals will scour the city for shows to take on tour, or make into television.

From BBC

He rubs off the papery chaff with his fingers, parboils them and covers them with seasoned rice vinegar in a jar for 24 hours.

From Seattle Times

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.