buffet

¹

[ buh-fey, boo-adjective boo-fey; British buhf-it ]

noun

1. 1. a variety of dishes presented in a line, from which diners in a restaurant serve themselves, usually at a fixed price regardless of how much one eats:

      The lavish all-you-can-eat buffet delivered a feast of salads, curries, pasta dishes, and sumptuous desserts for $40.

   2. a restaurant where food is presented in this way:

      They own one of the best high-end buffets in the country.

2. a meal laid out on one or more tables so that guests may serve themselves.
3. a sideboard or cabinet for holding china, table linen, etc.
4. a wide variety of things to choose from:

   The school’s internet safety workshop contains a buffet of ideas for parents in the 21st century.

5. a counter, bar, or the like, for lunch or refreshments.
6. a restaurant containing such a counter or bar.

adjective

1. consisting of food, refreshments, etc., laid out on tables or buffets from which guests or customers serve themselves: buffet service.

   a buffet supper;

   buffet service.

buffet

²

[ buhf-it ]

noun

1. a blow, as with the hand or fist.
2. a violent shock or concussion.

verb (used with object)

, buf·fet·ed, buf·fet·ing.

1. to strike, as with the hand or fist.

   Synonyms: wallop, sock, hit, box, cuff, slap

2. to strike against or push repeatedly:

   The wind buffeted the house.

3. to contend against; battle.

verb (used without object)

, buf·fet·ed, buf·fet·ing.

1. to struggle with blows of hand or fist.
2. to force one's way by a fight, struggle, etc.

buffet

¹

noun

1. ˈbʊfeɪ a counter where light refreshments are served
2. ˈbʊfeɪ
   1. a meal at which guests help themselves from a number of dishes and often eat standing up
   2. ( as modifier )

      a buffet lunch

3. ˈbʌfɪtˈbʊfeɪ a piece of furniture used from medieval times to the 18th century for displaying plates, etc and typically comprising one or more cupboards and some open shelves
4. dialect.
   ˈbʌfɪ a kind of low stool, pouffe, or hassock

buffet

²

/ ˈbʌfɪt /

verb

1. tr to knock against or about; batter

   the wind buffeted the boat

2. tr to hit, esp with the fist; cuff
3. to force (one's way), as through a crowd
4. intr to struggle; battle

noun

1. a blow, esp with a fist or hand
2. aerodynamic excitation of an aircraft structure by separated flows

Buffet

³

/ byfɛ /

noun

1. BuffetBernard19281999MFrenchARTS AND CRAFTS: painterARTS AND CRAFTS: engraver Bernard (bɛrnar). 1928–99, French painter and engraver. His works are characterized by sombre tones and thin angular forms

Derived Forms

• ˈbuffeter, noun

Other Words From

• buffet·er noun
• un·buffet·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of buffet¹

First recorded in 1710–20; from French, Old French; of obscure origin

Origin of buffet²

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, Old French buffe “a blow” + -et -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of buffet¹

C18: from French, of unknown origin

Origin of buffet²

C13: from Old French buffeter , from buffet a light blow, from buffe , of imitative origin

Example Sentences

When we think of buffets, we tend to think of their 1980s and early ’90s heyday, when commercial jingles for Sizzler might have been confused with our national anthem.

From Eater

A great gift for the hostess in your life, this wine rack also serves as a buffet style server, with a table top, storage shelves, space for 20 vertical bottles of wine, and hanging storage for wine glasses.

From Popular-Science

Faced with an all-you-can-eat buffet, that’s exactly what a plant’s green body sets out to do.

From Nautilus

This often means reducing capacities to earlier limits, or closing down a restaurant’s seated bar or buffet station.

From Eater

The antiquated system of waiting two weeks to be paid, sometimes with a paper check, now seems as outdated as office buffet lunches.

From Digiday

There were stomachs, taut and flat, but also undulating bellies, soft and bloated from the breakfast buffet.

From The Daily Beast

Nutritionist and trainers escorted players assigned to lose or gain weight to the buffet line and sat with them.

From The Daily Beast

La Teresita also has an adjoining cafeteria where you can head for an informal buffet and heaping piles of Cuban delicacies.

From The Daily Beast

I remember going to a rehearsal dinner that had lobster tail on the buffet and thinking that was decadent.

From The Daily Beast

Such is the buffet of delights served on an Oprah Winfrey press tour.

From The Daily Beast

Immediately Messa went up the stairs, and safely reached a large room where two candles were burning on a buffet.

From Project Gutenberg

It was there also that she ate, keeping her belongings in a rare old buffet, dingy and battered from a hundred years of use.

From Project Gutenberg

Buffetted, by the opposite party, out of one place, and now waiting till they come to buffet us out of another.

From Project Gutenberg

A great “feed” will take place in the grand hall; the buffet will serve as usual individual suppers and baskets for two persons.

From Project Gutenberg

Behind the group a white-faced young woman, of perhaps twenty, stood clutching at a buffet for support.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• cafeteria
• smorgasbord