puff (up)

Definition of puff (up)next

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for puff (up)
Verb
  • Temperatures were 96 degrees at the time, and the car’s engine was off and the windows were rolled up, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
    Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The big guys up front may not have dominated on every play but protected the quarterbacks and opened up enough lanes for Utah to roll up 633 yards — 364 on the ground and 269 in the air.
    ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • When fashion was in the grips of its growth-at-all-costs era, investors were backing buzz and brands were blowing up — but bottom lines weren’t.
    Tara Donaldson, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The idea is to blow up any impasse to avoid a hung jury and mistrial.
    Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • For example, adding things like brick powder to spices, or white powders to milk, to bulk them up.
    Lorena Galliot, Scientific American, 28 May 2026
  • His steals total was a bit misleading, and Kansas coach Bill Self will need to bulk him up and teach him more consistent defensive habits.
    Brendan Marks, New York Times, 24 Apr. 2026
Verb
  • By increasing the carrier density in the neighbouring graphene bilayer, the team progressively weakened the Coulomb interactions between electrons in the magic-angle graphene.
    Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The cores or plugs removed from the lawn during aeration actually increase the success of overseeding by providing more direct contact between the seeds and the soil.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 4 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The formula leaves a clean slate with clarifying acids— a BHA (salicylic acid) and an AHA (malic acid)—to clear away any build up on the scalp, and strengthens with omega-9 (oleic acid) to support healthier waves from root-to-tip.
    Madison San Miguel, Allure, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Reliever Seth Halvorsen gave up three hits without recording an out in the ninth, but the Dodgers had built up enough of a lead to weather a Washington (67-76) comeback attempt.
    Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The Federal Trade Commission and attorneys general from 22 states are suing Amazon, alleging that the tech giant secretly inflated the prices businesses paid to advertise products on its platforms.
    Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
  • The shifting mix is likely being driven by a high capital share of productivity – essentially faster technology investment cycles – but investors caution that stock values relative to other assets are likely being inflated as a result.
    Tobias Burns, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • But rising bond yields make safer government debt more attractive relative to stocks, while also reducing the present value investors assign to companies’ future earnings.
    Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
  • At the same time, waste is still piling up and resale’s environmental footprint is rising.
    Bella Webb, Vogue, 3 Sep. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Cite this Entry

“Puff (up).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/puff%20%28up%29. Accessed 7 Sep. 2026.

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