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Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
puffer
noun
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ However some fish, such as the puffer fish, produce poisons as a by-product of their natural metabolisms.
▪ Poison from the puffer fish, tetrodotoxin, prevents conduction in nerves.
▪ The puffer fish is found in warmer parts of the world both in sea water and fresh water.
▪ The puffers are notorious biters and pickers and if placed with other fishes should be given plenty of room.
▪ They lack the sharp spines but are covered with fine prickles that are evident when the puffer puffs up.
▪ This and the checkered puffer are two of the more attractive members of the family Tetraodontidae.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Puffer

Puffer \Puff"er\, n.

  1. One who puffs; one who praises with noisy or extravagant commendation.

  2. One who is employed by the owner or seller of goods sold at suction to bid up the price; a by-bidder.
    --Bouvier.

  3. (Zo["o]l.)

    1. Any plectognath fish which inflates its body, as the species of Tetrodon and Diodon of the family Tetraodontidae; -- called also blower, puff-fish, swellfish, and globefish. They are highly poisonous due to the presence of glands containing a potent toxin, tetrodotoxin. Nevertheless they are eaten as a delicacy in Japan, being prepared by specially licensed chefs who remove the poison glands.

    2. The common, or harbor, porpoise.

  4. (Dyeing) A kier.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
puffer

1620s, agent noun from puff (v.). As "one who praises or extols," from 1736. As a type of fish that inflates itself in defense, from 1814.

Wiktionary
puffer

n. 1 Someone or something that puffs. 2 Any of several poisonous fish, of the family ''Tetraodontidae'', which have the ability to puff themselves up when in danger. 3 (context slang English) A car left idling to warm up, emitting steam from the rear. 4 (context cellular automata English) A finite pattern that moves like a spaceship but leaves a trail of debris. 5 A manually-operated inhaler. 6 (context childish English) A train; a locomotive. 7 (context dated slang English) One who is employed by the owner or seller of goods sold at auction to bid up the price; a by-bidder. 8 The common, or harbour, porpoise. 9 A kier used in dyeing. 10 (context glassblowing English) A soffietta.

WordNet
puffer
  1. n. delicacy that is highly dangerous because of a potent nerve poison in ovaries and liver [syn: blowfish, sea squab]

  2. any of numerous marine fishes whose elongated spiny body can inflate itself with water or air to form a globe; several species contain a potent nerve poison; closely related to spiny puffers [syn: blowfish, globefish]

Wikipedia
Puffer

Puffer may refer to:

  • Clyde puffer, a type of cargo ship used in the Clyde estuary and off the west coast of Scotland
  • Puffer, a type of circuit breaker
  • Inhaler, a medical device used for delivering medication into the body via the lungs
  • Peninsula Ultra Fun Run (PUFfeR), a trail running ultra-marathon
  • Puffer machine, used to detect explosives
  • Puffer train, a class of patterns in automata such as Conway's Game of Life
  • Pufferfish, a type of fish in family Tetraodontidae which can inflate itself as a defence mechanism
  • Supercharger for a motor car engine
  • USS Puffer, two submarine vessels of the United States Navy
  • Puffer, name for a particular type of German Wheellock pistol, usually from Nuremberg or Augsburg
  • Puffer jacket, a type of jacket

People:

  • Brandon Puffer, American former professional baseball player
  • Fred Puffer, American hurdler

Usage examples of "puffer".

She closed her eyes and remembered that when she went into the sea to find a certain fish, a blue angel, or a spotted puffer, they were never where she looked for them.

Angelique thought the priest looked like a spotted puffer fish who had become alarmed.

TTX was also found in several varieties of puffer fish and was famous for being the secret ingredient in Haitian zombie potions.

TTX today, often through consuming puffer fish, received a dose far larger than what the Union Island priests used.

She attempted the same ploy, but she looked more like an inflated puffer fish.

Against one wall were terrariums with rare and delicate species of fungus and cactus, against another were aquariums with various species of puffer fish.

The tale opens abruptly with an opium-bred vision of the tower of Cloisterham Cathedral, beheld by Jasper as he awakens in the den of the Princess Puffer, between a Chinaman, a Lascar, and the hag herself.

In short, we cannot guess why the Princess Puffer hated Jasper, a paying client of long standing.

I had the dictionary in my hands, and on the off chance, I looked up puffer fish.

It comes from the puffer fish and causes respiratory and cardiovascular failure through paralysis of the neuromuscular system.

Vertebrates can live well without them: the puffer fish, for example, has a genome with very few of these repeats.

When we left them, she was still yelping and trying to get those scarlet puffers out of her dress.

Thus hoaxers and puffers could get away with conning gullible patrons out of large sums of money.

You want any of that, you should come round to Webster Road, which has become a Puffers and Vaunters Social Club!

That evening my aunt and uncle from Albany showed up, and the rest of that week was a steady parade of family and friends - the entire football team showed up, including Coach Puffer, who looked as if he had aged about twenty years.