buffet
Other forms: buffeted; buffeting; buffets
When you see the word buffet, it's hard not to think "all-you-can-eat." Although the noun can refer to food set out for self-service, buffet also means "a blow, especially with the hand" or, as a verb, "to strike sharply."
The two meanings of buffet come from very different sources. The self-serve meal buffet — from 18th-century French and pronounced buh-FAY — is named after a piece of furniture, bufet ("sideboard"), on which such a meal might be served. The meaning of hitting, however, comes from the Old French word bufe, "a blow" or "a puff of wind," and is pronounced BUH-fit. If the wind buffets the windows of your house, it can make them rattle in their frames, and if you are buffeted by bad news, you might shake in your shoes.
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a piece of furniture that stands at the side of a dining room; has shelves and drawers
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types:
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credence, credenza
a kind of sideboard or buffet
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cellaret, minibar
sideboard with compartments for holding bottles
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type of:
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article of furniture, furniture, piece of furniture
furnishings that make a room or other area ready for occupancy
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credence, credenza
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a meal set out on a buffet at which guests help themselves
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types:
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smorgasbord
an assortment of foods starting with herring or smoked eel or salmon etc with bread and butter; then cheeses and eggs and pickled vegetables and aspics; finally hot foods; served as a buffet meal
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smorgasbord
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usually inexpensive bar
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synonyms:
snack bar, snack counter
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types:
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commissary
a snack bar in a film studio
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milk bar
snack bar that sells milk drinks and light refreshments (such as ice cream)
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type of:
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bar
a counter where you can obtain food or drink
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commissary
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strike, beat repeatedly
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strike against forcefully“Winds buffeted the tent”
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synonyms:
batter, knock about
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type of:
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strike
deliver a sharp blow, as with the hand, fist, or weapon
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strike
Vocabulary lists containing buffet
In this first book of the Masterminds trilogy, a shocking secret about the safe and happy life in Serenity, New Mexico is revealed through the perspectives of five middle school students.
In this fourth book of the series The Trials of Apollo, Lester joins the Roman demigods in their search for the tomb of an undead king.
This nonfiction work tells the story of how thousands of young Russian women volunteered to be trained as pilots, navigators, and mechanics to defend their country during World War II.
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