[Elamur Dictionary](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/bluff/)

[dictionaries](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [English](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/) / [B](https://md.dictionary.elamur.ai/free/en/english/b/) / bluff

# bluff

verb (bluff, bluffs, bluffed, bluffing); noun (a bluff, bluffs); adjective (bluff)

«bluff» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. (verb) To pretend you are stronger, braver, cleverer or have better cards than you really do, to trick someone. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#m1)
2. (noun) A trick of pretending like this: «It was just a bluff.» [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#m2)
3. (noun) A steep cliff or high bank, especially by a river or the sea. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#m3)
4. (adjective) Friendly and honest but rather direct and loud: «a bluff old farmer». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#m4)

### In the lessons

In games like poker players bluff to win; in stories a hero bluffs past guards. «Call someone's bluff» means to make them prove what they claim. In geography a bluff is a steep slope by a river (common in the USA and Canada). Phrases: «call someone's bluff», «it's a bluff», «bluff your way through».

### Examples

- He said he had a dog at home, but he was bluffing. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#x1)
- I called her bluff and she admitted she had no ticket. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#x2)
- In card games you can bluff to make others give up. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#x3)
- The house stood on a bluff above the river. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#x4)
- The guard believed the bluff and let them in. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#x5)
- Grandad is a bluff man who says what he thinks. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#x6)
- Don't try to bluff your way through the test; study! [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#x7)
- Again the big red eagle appeared on the edge of the bluff. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/#x8)

### Note

Regular verb. Several unrelated meanings; context shows which. «Double bluff»: telling the truth so that people think you are lying.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «bluff» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bluff/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«bluff» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/bluff.html) on Mova free.