puff up

Definitions

1. To inflate with air.
   transitive
2. To fluff up, such as an animal raising its fur or feathers to appear larger or conserve body heat.
   intransitive, transitive
3. To swell due to injury or illness.
   intransitive
4. To become proud. (Often written as puffed up with pride.)
   figuratively, intransitive

Equivalents

Examples

“We puffed up the balloons.”

“Small birds puff up while sleeping to keep⟳ warm.”

“The angry cat hissed and puffed up its fur.”

“My hand puffed up where the cat had scratched me.”

“Sore against our will did we of Witchland join⟳ with the Demons in that war, foreseeing (as hath been bloodily approved) that the issue⟳ must be but the puffing up of the Demons, who desire no other thing than to be lords and tyrants of all the world.”

CEFR level