CUFF

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cuff mean? 

• CUFF (noun)
  The noun CUFF has 2 senses:

1. the lap consisting of a turned-back hem encircling the end of the sleeve or leg

2. shackle that consists of a metal loop that can be locked around the wrist; usually used in pairs

  Familiarity information: CUFF used as a noun is rare.

• CUFF (verb)
  The verb CUFF has 2 senses:

1. hit with the hand

2. confine or restrain with or as if with manacles or handcuffs

  Familiarity information: CUFF used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CUFF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The lap consisting of a turned-back hem encircling the end of the sleeve or leg

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

cuff; turnup

Hypernyms ("cuff" is a kind of...):

lap; overlap (a flap that lies over another part)

Meronyms (parts of "cuff"):

facing (a lining applied to the edge of a garment for ornamentation or strengthening)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cuff"):

trouser cuff (a cuff on the bottoms of trouser legs)

Holonyms ("cuff" is a part of...):

leg (a cloth covering consisting of the part of a pair of trousers that covers a person's leg)

arm; sleeve (the part of a garment that is attached at the armhole and that provides a cloth covering for the arm)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Shackle that consists of a metal loop that can be locked around the wrist; usually used in pairs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

cuff; handcuff; handlock; manacle

Hypernyms ("cuff" is a kind of...):

bond; hamper; shackle; trammel (a restraint that confines or restricts freedom (especially something used to tie down or restrain a prisoner))

Derivation:

cuff (confine or restrain with or as if with manacles or handcuffs)

• CUFF (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they cuff    ... he / she / it cuffs   
Past simple: cuffed   
Past participle: cuffed   
-ing form: cuffing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Hit with the hand

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

cuff; whomp

Hypernyms (to "cuff" is one way to...):

slap (hit with something flat, like a paddle or the open hand)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The fighter managed to cuff his opponent

Sense 2

Meaning:

Confine or restrain with or as if with manacles or handcuffs

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

cuff; handcuff; manacle

Context example:

The police handcuffed the suspect at the scene of the crime

Hypernyms (to "cuff" is one way to...):

fetter; shackle (restrain with fetters)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

They want to cuff the prisoners

Derivation:

cuff (shackle that consists of a metal loop that can be locked around the wrist; usually used in pairs)

 Context examples 

It was a new way of marking linen, he thought, until, looking closer, he saw "$3.85" on one of the cuffs.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

What else can be indicated by that right cuff so very shiny for five inches, and the left one with the smooth patch near the elbow where you rest it upon the desk?

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A two-way valve designed to control the pressure in an endotracheal tube cuff as introduced through a pilot balloon.

(Pilot Balloon Valve Device Component, NCI Thesaurus)

An instrument for blood pressure monitoring consisting of a sphygmomanometer and an electronic pressure sensor (transducer) that detects blood flow by the presence of ocillations in the cuff pressure.

(Oscillometric Blood Pressure Monitor, NCI Thesaurus)

One of the four muscles comprising the rotator cuff that is triangular in shape and extends from the infraspinatus fossa of the scapula to the greater tubercle of the humerus.

(Infraspinatus, NCI Thesaurus)

Also, he held White Fang's nose down to the slain hens, and at the same time cuffed him soundly.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

“That is of enormous importance,” said Holmes, making a note upon his shirt-cuff.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

You haven't half buttoned one cuff, do it at once.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Turning up the cuffs of his dress-coat—he had placed his overcoat on a chair—Holmes laid out two drills, a jemmy, and several skeleton keys.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"Then I take it for granted," observed Sir Walter, "that his face is about as orange as the cuffs and capes of my livery."

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)