Link Centre Dictionary

chaff

UK/t͡ʃæf/ US/t͡ʃɑːf/ rare
verb (1) noun (2)

verb

1.

be silly or tease one another

  • “After we relaxed, we just kidded around”
Synonyms

noun

1.

material consisting of seed coverings and small pieces of stem or leaves that have been separated from the seeds

Synonyms
2.

foil in thin strips; ejected into the air as a radar countermeasure

Origin

From Middle English chaf, from Old English ċeaf, from Proto-West Germanic *kaf. Cognate with Scots caff, Saterland Frisian Sääf, West Frisian tsjêf, Dutch kaf, German Low German Kaff, regional German Kaff.

Phrases

  • chaff cutter
  • chaff engine
  • chaff flower
  • chaff tree
  • prickly chaff flower
  • separate the wheat from the chaff
  • sort the wheat from the chaff
  • winnow grain from chaff

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.