beauffet

Noun (1)

buffet (plural buffets)

1. A counter or sideboard from which food and drinks are served or may be bought.
   • They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.1909 September 9, Archibald Marshall [pseudonym; Arthur Hammond Marshall], “A Court Ball”, in The Squire’s Daughter, London: Methuen & Co. […], →OCLC, page 9

   Synonyms:

   sideboard, smorgasbord, cupboard

2. Food laid out in this way, to which diners serve themselves.
   • We'll be serving supper buffet style.

   Synonyms:

   buffet meal, smorgasbord

3. A small low stool; a hassock.

Noun (2)

buffet (countable and uncountable, plural buffets)

1. (countable) A blow or cuff with or as if with the hand, or by any other solid object or the wind.
   • On his cheek a buffet fell.1805, Walter Scott, “(please specify the page)”, in The Lay of the Last Minstrel: A Poem, London: […] [James Ballantyne] for Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, […], and A[rchibald] Constable and Co....

   Synonyms:

   blow, collision, cuff

2. (uncountable) The vibration of an aircraft when flying in or approaching a stall, caused by separation of airflow from the aircraft's wings.
   • The aircraft configuration was such that there was little or no warning of the stall onset. The inboard slats were extended, and therefore, the flow separation from the stall would be limited to the outboard segment of the left wing and would not be felt by the left horizontal stabilizer. There...1979 December 21, National Transportation Safety Board, “Aircraft and Flightcrew Performance”, in Aircraft Accident Report: American Airlines, Inc., DC-10-10, N110AA, Chicago-O'Hare International...

See all 10 meanings of buffet