chaff

Use chaff in a sentence

Fine cut straw or chaff.

noun

The definition of chaff refers to useless things, grain husks and fine-cut straw, or light-hearted spoken exchanges.
1. Trash that you do not want is an example of chaff.
2. Wheat grains found after threshing is an example of chaff.
3. Light-hearted teasing and banter is an example of chaff.

verb

To chaff is to tease, especially in a light-hearted way.
When you joke around with someone and tease him, this is an example of a situation where you chaff.

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"chaff." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Chaff>.

APA Style

chaff. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Chaff

chaff

the husks of wheat or other grain separated in threshing or winnowing
fine-cut hay or straw, used for fodder
anything regarded as worthless
tiny strips of metal foil used to confuse enemy radar
good-natured teasing or joking; banter
Bot. the bracts that enclose the individual florets on the receptacles of certain composite heads

Origin of chaff

Middle English chaf from Old English ceaf; akin to Middle Dutch caf, German kaff

to tease or ridicule in a good-natured way

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MLA Style

"chaff." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Chaff>.

APA Style

chaff. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Chaff

chaff

noun

Botany Thin dry bracts or scales, especially:
a. The dry bracts enclosing mature grains of wheat and some other cereal grasses, removed during threshing.
b. The scales or bracts borne on the receptacle among the small individual flowers of many plants in the composite family.
Finely cut straw or hay used as fodder.
Trivial or worthless matter: ignored the picky, unimportant criticisms that were just a lot of chaff.
Strips of metal, foil, or glass fiber with a metal content, cut into various lengths and having varying frequency responses, that are used to reflect electromagnetic energy as a radar countermeasure. These materials, usually dropped from aircraft, also can be deployed from shells or rockets.

Origin of chaff

Middle English chaf from Old English ceaf

Related Forms:

chaf′fy
adjective

verb

chaffed, chaff·ing, chaffs

verb

transitive

To make fun of in a good-natured way; tease: chaffed him for forgetting the appointment.

verb

intransitive

To engage in playful teasing.

noun

Good-natured teasing; banter.

Origin of chaff

Possibly alteration of chafe or chaff ¹

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"chaff." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 17 March 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Chaff>.

APA Style

chaff. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Chaff

Noun

(uncountable)

The inedible parts of a grain-producing plant.
To separate out the chaff, early cultures tossed baskets of grain into the air and let the wind blow away the lighter chaff.
By extension, any excess or unwanted material, resource, or person; anything worthless.
There are plenty of good books on the subject, but take care to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Loose material dropped from aircraft specifically to interfere with radar detection.
Straw or hay cut up fine for the food of cattle.
Light jesting talk; banter; raillery.

Verb

(third-person singular simple present chaffs, present participle chaffing, simple past and past participle chaffed)

(intransitive) To use light, idle language by way of fun or ridicule; to banter.
To make fun of; to turn into ridicule by addressing in ironical or bantering language; to quiz.

Origin

Old English ceaf; akin to West Frisian tsjêf, Dutch kaf, German Kaff.

English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.