buffer

English

Wikipedia has articles on:

Buffer

Etymology

buff +‎ -er This definition is lacking an etymology or has an incomplete etymology. You can help Wiktionary by giving it a proper etymology.

Pronunciation

(RP) IPA: /ˈbʌfə(ɹ)/, [ˈbɐfə(ɹ)], X-SAMPA: /"bVf@(r)/, ["b6f@(r\)]
(GenAm) IPA: /ˈbʌfɚ/, X-SAMPA: /"bVf@`/
Audio (US)
(file)
(Australia) IPA: /ˈbafə(ɹ)/, [ˈbäfə(ɹ)], X-SAMPA: /"baf@(r\)/, ["ba_"f@(r\)]
Audio (Australia)
(file)
Rhymes: -ʌfə(r)

Noun

buffer (plural buffers)

Someone or something that buffs.
(chemistry) A solution used to stabilize the pH (acidity) of a liquid.
(computing) A portion of memory set aside to store data, often before it is sent to an external device or as it is received from an external device.
(mechanical) Anything used to maintain slack or isolate different objects.
(telecommunications) A routine or storage medium used to compensate for a difference in rate of flow of data, or time of occurrence of events, when transferring data from one device to another.
(rail transport) A device on trains and carriages designed to cushion the impact between them.
(rail transport) The metal barrier to help prevent trains from running off the end of the track.
An isolating circuit, often an amplifier, used to minimize the influence of a driven circuit on the driving circuit.
(politics, international relations) A buffer zone (such as a demilitarized zone) or a buffer state.
(colloquial) A good-humoured, slow-witted fellow, usually an elderly man.
(Can we find and add a quotation of Dickens to this entry?)
(figuratively) A gap that isolates or separates two things.
- 2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, Telegraph:
  An utterly emphatic 5-0 victory was ultimately capped by two wonder strikes in the last two minutes from Aston Villa midfielder Gary Gardner. Before that, England had utterly dominated to take another purposeful stride towards the 2013 European Championship in Israel. They have already established a five-point buffer at the top of Group Eight.