buffalo

1 of 2

noun

buf·​fa·​lo ˈbə-fə-ˌlō How to pronounce buffalo (audio)
plural buffalo or buffaloes also buffalos
often attributive
1
: any of several wild bovids: such as
c(1)
: bison
especially : a large North American bison (Bison bison) that has a dense coat of dark brown fur with a shaggy mane on the head and lower neck, short hollow horns, and heavy forequarters with a large muscular hump over the shoulders and that formerly was abundant in North America but is now reduced to small populations of plains and prairies chiefly of the central U.S. and Canada : american bison compare european bison
(2)
: the flesh of the buffalo used as food
2
: any of several suckers (genus Ictiobus) found mostly in the Mississippi River valley

called also buffalo fish

Illustration of buffalo

Illustration of buffalo
  • buffalo 1c(1)

buffalo

2 of 2

verb

buffaloed; buffaloing

Examples of buffalo in a Sentence

Verb I'm not some newcomer that you can buffalo with that nonsense. in this debate I refuse to be buffaloed by a flurry of irrelevant issues
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The name, Hillside, comes from Cerezo’s childhood neighborhood, while the logo — a buffalo head with a mountain in the background — is inspired by a local hill where a herd of buffalo once grazed and where Cerezo and his childhood friends rode dirt bikes. Kate Bradshaw, The Mercury News, 17 May 2024 Another ancient carving depicting Yama, the God of Death, riding a buffalo was smuggled out of the sanctuary before it was confiscated and placed on display in San Francisco in 2021, park officials told Thai PBS World. Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 15 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for buffalo 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'buffalo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Italian bufalo & Spanish búfalo, from Late Latin bufalus, alteration of Latin bubalus, from Greek boubalos African gazelle

First Known Use

Noun

1562, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1891, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of buffalo was in 1562

Dictionary Entries Near buffalo

Cite this Entry

“Buffalo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buffalo. Accessed 29 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

buffalo

noun
buf·​fa·​lo
ˈbəf-ə-ˌlō
plural buffalo or buffaloes
: any of several wild mammals related to oxen: as
c
: a large shaggy-maned North American mammal with short horns and heavy forequarters with a large muscular hump
Etymology

Noun

from Italian bufalo and Spanish búfalo, both meaning "wild ox," from Latin bubalus, bufalus "wild ox, African gazelle," from Greek boubalos "African gazelle," probably from bous "ox, cow" — related to butter

Word Origin
The Greeks traveled over much of the ancient world, and Greek authors gave names to a number of unfamiliar animals. The African gazelle they called boubalos, apparently deriving part of the name from the Greek word bous, meaning "ox." Later the Romans borrowed this Greek word, which they used for "gazelle" and for "wild ox." In Latin the form was first bubalus and later bufalus. This Latin word for wild ox later passed into Italian as bufalo and into Spanish as búfalo. From these languages the English picked it up and gave it the spelling buffalo. When English settlers arrived in America, they gave the name buffalo to the big, shaggy animal that scientists prefer to call bison.

Geographical Definition

Buffalo

geographical name

Buf·​fa·​lo ˈbə-fə-ˌlō How to pronounce Buffalo (audio)
city and port on Lake Erie and the Niagara River in western New York population 261,310
Buffalonian noun

More from Merriam-Webster on buffalo

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!