puff out
phrasal verb
puffed out; puffing out; puffs out
: to make (something) larger and rounder by filling it with air
She puffed her cheeks out and blew out the candles.
A gust of wind puffed out the boat's sails.
Examples of puff out in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the case of wild turkeys, males in breeding plumage puff out their feathers—appearing almost round—and fan their tails in a flashy display.
—
Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 June 2024
When startled, the lizard will open its mouth and puff out its beard to appear larger.
—Justin Meneguzzi, Travel + Leisure, 16 June 2024
When Fauci testified about the threats to his family, Fellows was sitting behind him puffing out his bottom lip to mock the threats against a doctor.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 June 2024
Its towering smokestacks once puffed out clouds of steam.
—Maria Varenikova Nicole Tung, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano, puffed out a string of near-perfect rings over the weekend — prompting comparisons to smoke rings, or a fleet of giant flying saucers floating gently into the blue sky.
—Leo Sands, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
There Wednesday on the streets, too, were hundreds of police officers, many with chests puffed out by protective vests.
—Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024
That’s a vestige of our furry mammalian ancestors, which puffed out their hair to trap heat closer to the skin.
—Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 8 Feb. 2024
Hisaishi’s music here is like a big beautiful bird puffing out its chest as much as any other character, apt for a film that must balance the usually strict rules of a Miyazaki universe with the intentionally flitting nature of a story about herons, canaries, and pelicans.
—Vulture, 24 Jan. 2024
Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 June 2024
When startled, the lizard will open its mouth and puff out its beard to appear larger.
—Justin Meneguzzi, Travel + Leisure, 16 June 2024
When Fauci testified about the threats to his family, Fellows was sitting behind him puffing out his bottom lip to mock the threats against a doctor.
—Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 June 2024
Its towering smokestacks once puffed out clouds of steam.
—Maria Varenikova Nicole Tung, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano, puffed out a string of near-perfect rings over the weekend — prompting comparisons to smoke rings, or a fleet of giant flying saucers floating gently into the blue sky.
—Leo Sands, Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2024
There Wednesday on the streets, too, were hundreds of police officers, many with chests puffed out by protective vests.
—Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN, 15 Feb. 2024
That’s a vestige of our furry mammalian ancestors, which puffed out their hair to trap heat closer to the skin.
—Max Bennett, Discover Magazine, 8 Feb. 2024
Hisaishi’s music here is like a big beautiful bird puffing out its chest as much as any other character, apt for a film that must balance the usually strict rules of a Miyazaki universe with the intentionally flitting nature of a story about herons, canaries, and pelicans.
—Vulture, 24 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'puff out.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Puff out.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puff%20out. Accessed 4 Jul. 2024.
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