fluffy

UK/ˈflʌfi/US/ˈflʌfi/

adjectiveB13 meanings Common in everyday speech and writing · #4,365 of 15,258leans spoken

Fluffy means soft and light, with air caught in it. A duckling, a towel straight out of the dryer, the foam on a cappuccino, a kitten's tail.

Two pictures share the word. One is texture: covered in soft, loose fibres or fur — a fluffy jumper, fluffy hair after a wash. The other belongs to the kitchen: full of air and not dense — fluffy pancakes, fluffy mashed potato, fluffy rice where every grain stands apart. Behind it is the noun fluff, the grey stuff in a coat pocket and under the bed. Said of ideas or writing, fluffy is an insult: sweet, vague, nothing solid inside.

Definitions of fluffy

1adjectivedownyCovered in or made of soft, loose fibres or fur.B1
“She wrapped the baby in a fluffy white blanket.”
synonyms: downy, furry
2adjectivefluffyLight and full of air, not heavy or dense.B1
“Beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy.”
- Said"These pancakes are so fluffy; what did you do differently?"
- WrittenThe rice came out fluffy and separate, every grain its own.
- UsedFold the egg whites in gently to keep the mixture fluffy.
- ContrastFluffy, not soft. Soft is how it feels to touch; fluffy is how it rose. soft →
- Not thisA wet, heavy loaf is not fluffy, however sweet. Fluffy means full of air and light.
- Exchange"How's the omelette?""Fluffy. You've finally got it."
- SimplyThe eggs are fluffy. They are yellow and warm.
Patternlight and fluffy · fluffy + noun (pancakes, rice, omelette) · beat until fluffy · fluffiness
3adjectivepleasantPleasant but lacking substance.C1
“The chapter was fluffy and said nothing new.”

Remember it

FLUFFy → soft and full of air, like FLUFF

Light as a cloud: the pancakes are so full of air that they hardly weigh anything.

Also practised as

adjectiveSoft and light, standing up in tufts.

Where it comes from

Fluffy is fluff with -y stuck on the end, the way dust gives dusty and mud gives muddy. German built its word for the same softness in much the same way: flauschig.

Proto-Indo-European
*h₂welh₁-
vls
vluwe
English
fluff
English, today
fluffy

Built from

floow · English — woolly substance, down, nap, lint

From fluff + y. Compare German flauschig (“fluffy”). fluff comes from earlier floow (“woolly substance, down, nap, lint”), also spelt flough, flue, and flew, from vls vluwe, of unknown ultimate origin:

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Definitions of fluffy

1adjectivedownyCovered in or made of soft, loose fibres or fur.B1

“She wrapped the baby in a fluffy white blanket.”

synonyms: downy, furry

2adjectivefluffyLight and full of air, not heavy or dense.B1

“Beat the eggs and sugar until the mixture is pale and fluffy.”

Said"These pancakes are so fluffy; what did you do differently?"
WrittenThe rice came out fluffy and separate, every grain its own.
UsedFold the egg whites in gently to keep the mixture fluffy.
ContrastFluffy, not soft. Soft is how it feels to touch; fluffy is how it rose. soft →
Not thisA wet, heavy loaf is not fluffy, however sweet. Fluffy means full of air and light.
Exchange"How's the omelette?""Fluffy. You've finally got it."
SimplyThe eggs are fluffy. They are yellow and warm.

Patternlight and fluffy · fluffy + noun (pancakes, rice, omelette) · beat until fluffy · fluffiness

3adjectivepleasantPleasant but lacking substance.C1

“The chapter was fluffy and said nothing new.”