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Pronunciation Guide
HOW TO PRONOUNCE

buffalo

/ˈbʌf.ə.loʊ/

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What does buffalo mean?

noun

  1. An animal from the subtribe Bubalina, also known as true buffalos, such as the Cape buffalo, Syncerus caffer, or the water buffalo, Bubalus bubalis.
  2. A related North American animal, the American bison, Bison bison.
  3. Ellipsis of buffalo robe.
More meanings (30)

noun

  1. The buffalo fish (Ictiobus spp.).
  2. (slang) A nickel.
  3. Ellipsis of American buffalo (“gold bullion coin”).
  4. (historical, slang) A looter during the Civil War.
  5. (derogatory, slang) A large or stupid person.
  6. (derogatory, slang) An obese person, usually a woman.
  7. (derogatory, offensive, slang) A black male.

verb

  1. To hunt buffalo.
  2. (slang) To outwit, confuse, deceive, or intimidate.
  3. (archaic) To pistol-whip.

proper noun

  1. A major city, the county seat of Erie County, New York, USA; very near Niagara Falls.
  2. A small city in Scott County, Iowa.
  3. A city, the county seat of Wright County, Minnesota.
  4. A city, the county seat of Dallas County, Missouri.
  5. A town, the county seat of Harper County, Oklahoma.
  6. A census-designated place in Union County, South Carolina.
  7. A town, the county seat of Harding County, South Dakota.
  8. A small city in Leon County, Texas.
  9. A town in Putnam County, West Virginia.
  10. A town in Buffalo County, Wisconsin, not to be confused with Buffalo City in the same county.
  11. A town in Marquette County, Wisconsin.
  12. A city, the county seat of Johnson County, Wyoming.
  13. A number of townships, including in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Pennsylvania, listed under Buffalo Township.
  14. A rural municipality (the Rural Municipality of Buffalo No. 409) in western Saskatchewan, Canada.
  15. A number of places in South Africa.
  16. A town in South Gippsland Shire, south eastern Victoria, Australia.
  17. Ellipsis of Buffalo City.
  18. Ellipsis of Buffalo County.
  19. Ellipsis of Buffalo River.
  20. Ellipsis of Buffalo Township.
Wiktionary contributors Wiktionary contributors

Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0

IPA pronunciation

/ˈbʌf.ə.loʊ/

Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗

Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.

In the pages of books

See this word in context.

They knew what the business was before them--the terrible charge of the buffalo herd against which no tiger can hope to stand.
Rudyard KiplingThe Jungle BookProject Gutenberg ebook #236
He was only nine years old when his family was separated from the rest of the tribe while on a buffalo hunt.
Charles A. EastmanIndian Heroes and Great ChieftainsProject Gutenberg ebook #336
More book examples (3)
In pristine days the Buffalo herds were followed by bands of Wolves that preyed on the sick, the weak, and the wounded.
Ernest Thompson SetonAnimal HeroesProject Gutenberg ebook #2284
Upon this groundwork of buff leather I had plates of thick and hard buffalo hide, tanned, overlapping like slates upon a roof.
Samuel White, Sir BakerWild Beasts and Their Ways, Reminiscences of Europe, Asia, Africa and America — Volume 1Project Gutenberg ebook #3657
Even at that remote period they had already, by long-continued selection, been developed out of wild forms akin to the American buffalo.
Ignatius DonnellyAtlantis: The Antedeluvian WorldProject Gutenberg ebook #4032