chaff

¹ American  

[chaf, chahf] / tʃæf, tʃɑf /

noun

1. the husks of grains and grasses that are separated during threshing.

2. straw cut up for fodder.

3. worthless matter; refuse.

4. the membranous, usually dry, brittle bracts of the flowers of certain plants.

5. Also called window.  Military. strips of metal foil dropped by an aircraft to confuse enemy radar by creating false blips.

---

chaff ² American  

[chaf, chahf] / tʃæf, tʃɑf /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to mock, tease, or jest in a good-natured way; banter.

   She chaffed him for working late. They joked and chaffed with each other.

---

noun

1. good-natured ridicule or teasing; raillery.

chaff ¹ British  

/ tʃɑːf /

noun

1. the mass of husks, etc, separated from the seeds during threshing

2. finely cut straw and hay used to feed cattle

3. something of little worth; rubbish (esp in the phrase separate the wheat from the chaff )

4. the dry membranous bracts enclosing the flowers of certain composite plants

5. thin strips of metallic foil released into the earth's atmosphere to confuse radar signals and prevent detection

---

chaff ² British  

/ tʃɑːf /

noun

1. light-hearted teasing or joking; banter

---

verb

1. to tease good-naturedly; banter

Other Word Forms

• chaffer noun
• chaffingly adverb
• chaffless adjective
• chafflike adjective
• chaffy adjective
• unchaffed adjective
• unchaffing adjective

Etymology

Origin of chaff¹

before 1000; Middle English chaf, Old English ceaf; cognate with Middle Low German, Dutch kaf

Origin of chaff²

First recorded in 1640–50; perhaps from chaff ¹

Example Sentences

An hour later he emerges, smeared with grease and chaff but successful.

From Literature

Together we have made pallets of cane chaff and leaves.

From Literature

For days at a time the animals had nothing to eat but chaff and mangels.

From Literature

The movement unhinged his legs and he fell to his knees, knocking down the grass like so much chaff.

From Literature

After the zafra over, I work on drainage ditches for rice, I clear weeds, I cut and burn chaff.

From Literature