English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology 1

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Onomatopoeic. See also puff.

Pronunciation

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Interjection

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poof

  1. Onomatopoeia indicating a small explosion with a cloud of smoke; as caused by a deflating object, or a magical disappearance.
    Poof, he was gone.
    • 1969, Beard & Kennedy, Bored of the Rings, page 87:
      Even now, in the spring, the river softly cries, 'Menthol, Menthol, you are one wazoo. One day I'm the elf next door and the poof I'm a river.'
    • 1995, Christopher McQuarrie, The Usual Suspects (motion picture), spoken by Verbal (Kevin Spacey):
      The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that, poof. He's gone.
Derived terms
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Translations
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Verb

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poof (third-person singular simple present poofs, present participle poofing, simple past and past participle poofed)

  1. To vanish or disappear.
    He poofed into thin air.
    • 2019, Justin Blackburn, The Bisexual Christian Suburban Failure Enlightening Bipolar Blues, page 22:
      He's a figment of your subconscious Eric, not mine, so I tapped into Ultimate Reality and poofed him out.
  2. (intransitive) To break wind; to fart.
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Noun

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poof (plural poofs)

  1. The product of flatulence, or the sound of breaking wind.

Etymology 2

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Origin unknown.

Noun

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poof (plural poofs or (less common) pooves)

  1. (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Commonwealth, derogatory, colloquial) A gay man; especially one who is effeminate.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:male homosexual
    • 2015, Irvine Welsh, A Decent Ride[1], Random House, →ISBN, page 21:
      He recalls how everybody got called a ‘poof’ at Forrester High School in the seventies. Back then, only ‘wanker’ possibly rivalled it as the most common term of abuse. But The Poof was the Poof.
Derived terms
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Translations
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