buffer
1 Americannoun
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an apparatus at the end of a railroad car, railroad track, etc., for absorbing shock during coupling, collisions, etc.
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any device, material, or apparatus used as a shield, cushion, or bumper, especially on machinery.
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any intermediate or intervening shield or device reducing the danger of interaction between two machines, chemicals, electronic components, etc.
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a person or thing that shields and protects against annoyance, harm, hostile forces, etc., or that lessens the impact of a shock or reversal.
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any reserve moneys, negotiable securities, legal procedures, etc., that protect a person, organization, or country against financial ruin.
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Ecology. an animal population that becomes the prey of a predator that usually feeds on a different species.
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Computers. a storage device for temporarily holding data until the computer is ready to receive or process the data, as when a receiving unit has an operating speed lower than that of the unit feeding data to it.
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Electronics. a circuit with a single output activated by one or more of several inputs.
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Chemistry.
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any substance or mixture of compounds that, added to a solution, is capable of neutralizing both acids and bases without appreciably changing the original acidity or alkalinity of the solution.
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Also called buffer solution. a solution containing such a substance.
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verb (used with object)
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Chemistry. to treat with a buffer.
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to cushion, shield, or protect.
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to lessen the adverse effect of; ease.
The drug buffered his pain.
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Digital Technology. to temporarily save (data) before actively accessing it so that it can be loaded at a rapid or uniform rate: You’ll get a load screen while the game buffers those high-resolution graphics.
Give the app time to buffer the audio when you are streaming music.
You’ll get a load screen while the game buffers those high-resolution graphics.
noun
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a device for polishing or buffing, as a buff stick or buff wheel.
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a worker who uses such a device.
noun
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a foolish or incompetent person.
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a fellow; man.
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a chief boatswain's mate in the British navy.
noun
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one of a pair of spring-loaded steel pads attached at both ends of railway vehicles and at the end of a railway track to reduce shock due to contact
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a person or thing that lessens shock or protects from damaging impact, circumstances, etc
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chem
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an ionic compound, usually a salt of a weak acid or base, added to a solution to resist changes in its acidity or alkalinity and thus stabilize its pH
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Also called: buffer solution. a solution containing such a compound
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computing a memory device for temporarily storing data
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electronics an isolating circuit used to minimize the reaction between a driving and a driven circuit
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short for buffer state
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informal to finish or be stopped, esp unexpectedly
verb
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to insulate against or protect from shock; cushion
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chem to add a buffer to (a solution)
noun
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any device used to shine, polish, etc; buff
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a person who uses such a device
noun
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Chemistry A substance that prevents change in the acidity of a solution when an acid or base is added to the solution or when the solution is diluted. Buffers are used to make solutions of known pH, especially for instrument calibration purposes. Natural buffers also exist in living organisms, where biochemical reactions are very sensitive to changes in pH.
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Computer Science A device or an area of a computer that temporarily stores data that is being transferred between two machines that process data at different rates, such as a computer and a printer.
Discover More
Buffers are often used in medications designed to decrease acidity in the stomach.
Other Word Forms
- unbuffered adjective
Etymology
Origin of buffer1
First recorded in 1825–35; buff 2 + -er 1
Origin of buffer2
First recorded in 1850–55; buff 1 + -er 1
Origin of buffer3
First recorded in 1745–50; origin uncertain
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"All of this is a big, big buffer for the next few weeks and that's why the market is not panicking."
From Barron's
Low inflation across the Gulf also acts as a buffer.
This is the buffer against her rule not to borrow to fund day-to-day spending in five years' time.
From BBC
For now, East Asian importers have enough oil reserves to buffer the shocks for a few weeks.
From MarketWatch
The pact, brokered by the U.S. and France, required the creation of a buffer zone south of Lebanon’s Litani River and Hezbollah’s disarmament.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
