buff·er 1 (b?f??r)n.1. One that buffs, especially a piece of soft leather or cloth used to shine or polish.2. A buffing wheel.buff·er 2 (b?f??r)n.1. Something that lessens or absorbs the shock of an impact.2. One that protects by intercepting or moderating adverse pressures or influences: “A sense of humor … may have served as a buffer against the … shocks of disappointment” (James Russell Lowell).3. Something that separates potentially antagonistic entities, as an area between two rival powers that serves to lessen the danger of conflict.4. Chemistry A solution that resists a change in acidity when an acid or base is added to it, or a substance that facilitates this resistance.5. Computers A device or area used to store data temporarily.tr.v. buff·ered, buff·er·ing, buff·ers 1. To act as a buffer for or between.2. Chemistry To treat (a solution) with a buffer.3. Computers To hold or collect (data) in a buffer.[Probably from obsolete buff, to make a sound like a soft body being hit, of imitative origin.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.buffer (?b?f?) n1. (Railways) 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 contact2. a person or thing that lessens shock or protects from damaging impact, circumstances, etc3. (Chemistry) chem a. 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 pHb. Also called: buffer solution a solution containing such a compound4. (Computer Science) computing a memory device for temporarily storing data5. (Electronics) electronics an isolating circuit used to minimize the reaction between a driving and a driven circuit6. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) short for buffer state7. hit the buffers informal to finish or be stopped, esp unexpectedlyvb (tr) 8. (Electronics) to insulate against or protect from shock; cushion9. (Chemistry) chem to add a buffer to (a solution)[C19: from buff2]buffer (?b?f?) n1. (General Engineering) any device used to shine, polish, etc; buff2. (General Engineering) a person who uses such a devicebuffer (?b?f?) ninformal offensive Brit a stupid or bumbling man (esp in the phrase old buffer)[C18: perhaps from Middle English buffer stammerer]Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014buff?er1 (?b?f ?r) n. 1. an apparatus at the end of a railroad car, railroad track, etc., for absorbing shock during coupling, collisions, etc. 2. any device, material, or apparatus used as a shield, cushion, or bumper, esp. on machinery. 3. any intermediate or intervening shield or device reducing the danger of interaction between two machines, chemicals, electronic components, etc. 4. a person or thing that shields and protects against harm or annoyance or that lessens the impact of a shock or reversal. 5. financial reserves that protect a person, organization, or country against bankruptcy. 6. buffer state. 7. a temporary storage area that holds data until the computer is ready to process it. 8. a. any substance capable of neutralizing both acids and bases in a solution without appreciably changing the solution’s original acidity or alkalinity. b. Also called buff?er solu`tion. a solution containing such a substance. v.t. 9. to cushion, shield, or protect. 10. to treat with a buffer. [1825?35; buff2 + -er1] buff?er2 (?b?f ?r) n. 1. a device for polishing or buffing, as a buff. 2. a person who uses such a device. [1850?55] Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.buff·er (b?f??r)1. Chemistry A substance that prevents change in the acidity of a solution when an acid or base is added to the solution.2. 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.The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.bufferPast participle: bufferedGerund: bufferingImperativePresentPreteritePresent ContinuousPresent PerfectPast ContinuousPast PerfectFutureFuture PerfectFuture ContinuousPresent Perfect ContinuousFuture Perfect ContinuousPast Perfect ContinuousConditionalPast ConditionalImperativebufferbufferPresentI bufferyou bufferhe/she/it bufferswe bufferyou bufferthey bufferPreteriteI bufferedyou bufferedhe/she/it bufferedwe bufferedyou bufferedthey bufferedPresent ContinuousI am bufferingyou are bufferinghe/she/it is bufferingwe are bufferingyou are bufferingthey are bufferingPresent PerfectI have bufferedyou have bufferedhe/she/it has bufferedwe have bufferedyou have bufferedthey have bufferedPast ContinuousI was bufferingyou were bufferinghe/she/it was bufferingwe were bufferingyou were bufferingthey were bufferingPast PerfectI had bufferedyou had bufferedhe/she/it had bufferedwe had bufferedyou had bufferedthey had bufferedFutureI will bufferyou will bufferhe/she/it will bufferwe will bufferyou will bufferthey will bufferFuture PerfectI will have bufferedyou will have bufferedhe/she/it will have bufferedwe will have bufferedyou will have bufferedthey will have bufferedFuture ContinuousI will be bufferingyou will be bufferinghe/she/it will be bufferingwe will be bufferingyou will be bufferingthey will be bufferingPresent Perfect ContinuousI have been bufferingyou have been bufferinghe/she/it has been bufferingwe have been bufferingyou have been bufferingthey have been bufferingFuture Perfect ContinuousI will have been bufferingyou will have been bufferinghe/she/it will have been bufferingwe will have been bufferingyou will have been bufferingthey will have been bufferingPast Perfect ContinuousI had been bufferingyou had been bufferinghe/she/it had been bufferingwe had been bufferingyou had been bufferingthey had been bufferingConditionalI would bufferyou would bufferhe/she/it would bufferwe would bufferyou would bufferthey would bufferPast ConditionalI would have bufferedyou would have bufferedhe/she/it would have bufferedwe would have bufferedyou would have bufferedthey would have bufferedCollins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011