buf·fet
1 (bə-fā́, bōō-)
[French.]
noun
- A large sideboard with drawers and cupboards.
- A counter or table from which meals or refreshments are served.
- A restaurant having such a counter.
- A meal at which guests serve themselves from various dishes displayed on a table or sideboard.
adjective
- Informally served: a buffet luncheon.
buf·fet
2 (bŭf́ĭt)
[Middle English, from Old French buffet diminutive of buffe, blow.]
noun
- A blow or cuff with or as if with the hand.
verb: -fet·ed, -fet·ing, -fets.
transitive verb
- To hit or beat, especially repeatedly.
- To strike against forcefully; batter: winds that buffeted the tent. See synonyms at beat
- To drive or force with or as if with repeated blows: was buffeted about from job to job by the vagaries of the economy.
- To force (one's way) with difficulty.
intransitive verb
- To force one's way with difficulty: a ship buffeting against the wind.
derivatives
- buf́fet·er
- noun
