buffet

Meaning

Noun

1. A counter or sideboard from which food and drinks are served or may be bought.
2. Food laid out in this way, to which diners serve themselves.
3. A small low stool; a hassock.

Verb

1. (transitive) To strike with a buffet; to cuff; to slap.
2. (figuratively, transitive) To aggressively challenge, denounce, or criticise.
3. To affect as with blows; to strike repeatedly; to strive with or contend against.
4. To deaden the sound of (bells) by muffling the clapper.
5. (intransitive) To struggle, contend; also in figurative or extended use: to move as if driven by force.

Synonyms

slap

cuff

counter

strike

bar

hit

batter

box

📦

beat

bang

smite

knock

sideboard

push one’s way

squeeze through

squeeze into

smorgasbord

snack bar

snack counter

elbow one’s way

shoulder one’s way

cupboard

knock about

ram

🐏

refreshment room

buff

bump

force one’s way

squeeze between

overcome

poke

pommel

pound

💷

puff

pulsate

pulse

punch

👊

push

rap

scuffle

shake

🫨

shove

shroud

slat

smack

spat

struggle

surmount

swat

tea trolley

Translations

buffet

Büfett

bufet

buffet

κυλικείο

bar

Buffet

buffet

aparador

plaga

μπουφές

tapkast

abacus

bar

Schlag

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈbʊ.feɪ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: buffet

Cognate with Italian: buffetto

Cognate with German: puffen

Inherited from Middle English: buffeten

In summary

Inherited from Middle English buffet (“stool”), from Middle French buffet (“side table”), from Old French buffet, of unknown origin. The modern pronunciation is remodelled after modern French buffet.