tuft

[ tuhft ]

noun

1. a bunch or cluster of small, usually soft and flexible parts, as feathers or hairs, attached or fixed closely together at the base and loose at the upper ends.
2. a cluster of short, fluffy threads, used to decorate cloth, as for a bedspread, robe, bath mat, or window curtain.
3. a cluster of cut threads, used as a decorative finish attached to the tying or holding threads of mattresses, quilts, upholstery, etc.
4. a covered or finished button designed for similar use.
5. a cluster of short-stalked flowers, leaves, etc., growing from a common point.
6. a small clump of bushes, trees, etc.
7. a gold tassel on the cap formerly worn at English universities by titled undergraduates.
8. a titled undergraduate at an English university.

verb (used with object)

1. to furnish or decorate with a tuft or tufts.
2. to arrange in a tuft or tufts.
3. Upholstery. to draw together (a cushion or the like) by passing a thread through at regular intervals, the depressions thus produced being usually ornamented with tufts or buttons.

verb (used without object)

1. to form into or grow in a tuft or tufts.

tuft

/ tʌft /

noun

1. a bunch of feathers, grass, hair, etc, held together at the base
2. a cluster of threads drawn tightly through upholstery, a mattress, a quilt, etc, to secure and strengthen the padding
3. a small clump of trees or bushes
4. (formerly) a gold tassel on the cap worn by titled undergraduates at English universities
5. a person entitled to wear such a tassel

verb

1. tr to provide or decorate with a tuft or tufts
2. to form or be formed into tufts
3. to secure and strengthen (a mattress, quilt, etc) with tufts

Derived Forms

• ˈtufter, noun
• ˈtufty, adjective

Other Words From

• tufter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of tuft¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, variant of toft(e), from Middle French tofe, toffe, of uncertain origin; English excrescent t as in against

Word History and Origins

Origin of tuft¹

C14: perhaps from Old French tufe , of Germanic origin; compare top ¹

Example Sentences

Upon closer inspection, I understood they were seeds, hundreds of them, attached to tufts of silky hair.

From Outside Online

The scientists first tried to pull tufts of hair off the spider legs using tweezers.

From Science News For Students

The violence in Levenson’s tidy glass pieces, which also contain razor blades and tufts of sharp wire, is latent.

From Washington Post

Walking with snowshoes on tufts of powder subtly alters your gait while adding new weight to each step, which makes for a grueling lower body workout.

From Washington Post

Grab a tuft of green needles, rip or chop them into small pieces, and drop them into some very hot water.

From Popular-Science

Al Pacino comes dressed in black and gray, wearing multiple bracelets and an unkempt tuft of hair poking up from his scalp.

From The Daily Beast

He thrust his tiny tuft of beard between his teeth—a trick he had when perplexed or thoughtful.

From Project Gutenberg

She has a grey body, plump as a sack of meal, with little white speckles, a funny neck and such a small head with a tuft on top.

From Project Gutenberg

In this way it could be made to smoke, and finally set fire to a tuft of dried moss, from which he might get a flame for cooking.

From Project Gutenberg

With the soft tuft of camel hair he blurred against the peak pale, luminous vapor of new cloud.

From Project Gutenberg

The tail is on a level with the back, and gracefully tapers like a drum-stick, to the tuft on the end.

From Project Gutenberg