Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use bluff in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb, adjective

Bluff means an act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one’s position in order to intimidate or deceive; braggadocio. Example: “That is only bluff, or That is only a bluff.”

Examples of bluff by meaning

nounAn act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one’s position in order to intimidate or deceive; braggadocio.

  • That is only bluff, or That is only a bluff.

nounAn attempt to represent oneself as holding a stronger hand than one actually does.

  • John’s bet was a bluff: he bet without even so much as a pair.

verbTo make a bluff; to give the impression that one’s hand is stronger than it is.

  • John bluffed by betting without even a pair.

verbTo frighten, deter, or deceive with a false show of strength or confidence; to give a false impression of strength or...

  • The government claims it will call an election if this bill does not pass. Is it truly ready to do so, or is it bluffing?

verbTo perform or achieve by bluffing.

  • We bluffed our way past the guards.

verbTo give false information intentionally, to lie (to someone), to deceive; to put on an act.

  • Vinod, you want to bluff the doctor, your mother, father, uncle, auntie, CMPB all that I don't care.1993, Haresh Sharma, Off Centre, Ethos Books, →ISBN, Act 3, scene I, page 86, lines 1–4

nounA high, steep bank, for example by a river or the sea, or beside a ravine or plain; a cliff with a broad face.

  • It seems there was a worm that slept upon a pile of treasure, which it had zealously heaped up under a stone bluff.1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 39
  • Situated on bluffs above the Huangpu, a tributary of the Yangtze, Shanghai—which means ‘above the sea’—is sinking.2020, David Farrier, “Thin Cities”, in Footprints, 4th Estate, →ISBN

adjectiveHaving a broad, flattened front.

  • the bluff bows of a ship

More sentences with bluff

  • Smith tried to buy the pot on the river with a huge bluff.From the entry buy
  • (In a poker game): I raise you twenty. — Oh, yeah? I think you're bluffing. I call.From the entry oh yeah
  • This species was found only in the microsite at the foot of the bluff.From the entry microsite
  • She was tempted to call his bluff, hardly believing that he would carry out his threat.From the entry call someone's bluff
  • On such a coordinated board, queens are basically a bluff catcher.From the entry bluff catcher
  • Nick bluffed him out of that pot with big lick.From the entry big lick
  • Don’t so yaya papaya lah. You dono then don’t bluff.From the entry yaya papaya
  • Just be careful on the curves, especially where the road goes along the bluffs.”2011, Reynold Conger, Chased Across Australia, page 180. From the entry banana bender
  • On another surveillance flight I accompanied a prominent pollie of the day, a big, bluff, ruddy-faced Minister.2009, David Daniel, Rough as Guts, page 177. From the entry pollie
  • Photography from the bluff side would accentuate the twin-pinnacled crest but sacrifice part of the background.1978, Missouri. Division of Geology and Land Survey, Educational Series - Division of Geology and Land Survey. From the entry pinnacled
  • A man was standing on top of the bluff, ashily silhouetted against the night sky.1965, John Fowles, The Magus, Boston: Little, Brown, Part 2, Chapter 49, pp. 318-319. From the entry ashily
  • There's two of you, but you don't bluff me out, not any."1922, A. M. Chisholm, A Thousand a Plate. From the entry durn
  • In this case, if the predator is not a low-cost firm, it successfully bluffs out the potential entrants through false signalling.2016, Sumit Sarkar, “Business Poker: Playing Games with Limited Information”, in Out-think!: How to Use Game Theory to Outsmart Your…. From the entry bluff out
  • The check-raise looks very bluffy (although you know better than to check-raise bluff on these types of boards against stubborn opponents).2010, Tri Nguyen, Aaron Davis, The Poker Blueprint. From the entry bluffy
  • “If it ain’t already coming at you, you bluff.2000, Andrew Dequasie, Vermont Mosaic: Whizzers and Other Short Fictional Tales of Vermont, Xlibris, →ISBN, page 31. From the entry fer-instance
  • The dread-inspiring aura with which the father surrounds himself is based not on power and glory, but on bluff and bravado.1999, Raymond Armstrong, Kafka and Pinter Shadow-Boxing: The Struggle between Father and Son, Macmillan Press Ltd, →ISBN, page 163. From the entry Wizard of Oz
  • I always want to move all-in on these people, but who can you bluff with a 6 dollar bet?1998 October 4, cnote, “Re: No Limit Hold'em”, in rec.gambling.poker (Usenet), message-ID <3617F4CD.735@ionet.net> <3617FB80.2A00@idt.net>. From the entry Cadillac of poker
  • I always felt I was doing a bit of bluffing.1989 April 11, Barbara Hooks, “Comedy finds balance that avoids prejudice”, in The Age, page 14. From the entry Freudian slip
  • Some reporter found out we had a Russkie up here and tried to bluff his way onto the floor.1984, Tom Clancy, “The Eleventh Day: Monday, 13 December”, in The Hunt for Red October, Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, →ISBN…. From the entry go ape
  • Johnson's blacks bluffed casualness along the sides of the room and Difalco's two whites peered inconspicuously from the door.1970, Wally Ferris, Across 110th, page 70. From the entry casualness
  • He had not been bluffing or merely "showing willing."1962, Andrew Boyle, Trenchard, Collins, page 227. From the entry show willing
  • But one evening they called his bluff.1933 May 12, T[imothy] M[aurice] Pridgen, “Leaves from a Reporter’s Note-book”, in The Charlotte News, final edition, Charlotte, N.C.…. From the entry uppitily
  • The discard was, in fact, an experiment in bluff.1923, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], “(please specify the page)”, in The Eyes of Max Carrados, London: Grant Richards…. From the entry quint
  • “You’ve nothing on me—don't try bluffing me, Mr.1919, H. Bedford-Jones, “IX. I Meet John Talkso”, in The House of Skulls. From the entry have nothing on
  • Ever seen a T-shirted division vice president of a $35B company crow about "jebaiting" a corporate opponent by "double bluffing the Super strategy?" No?2019 July 22, Jim Salter, “AMD exec: Nvidia fell for our double bluff”, in Ars Technica. From the entry jebait
  • “Heyo!” He heard a call from the edge of the bluffs and turned to see Jake Simmons angling across the clearing to intercept him.2009, Charles G. West, The Blackfoot Trail. From the entry heyo
  • The more sophisticated player has recently won a pot by drawing one card to a pair of face cards and then bluffing out his opposition.1998 August, Mason Malmuth, “A Little More Sophistication”, in Winning Concepts in Draw and Lowball, 2nd edition, Las Vegas, Nev.: Two…. From the entry bluff out
  • Bluff and counterbluff, ploy and counterploy.1971, William O. Johnson, Super Spectator and the Electric Lilliputians, page 114. From the entry counterploy
  • If the great marble shaft couldn't be dragged up the face of the bluff, the squint-eyed old river runner would be the loser.1940 Oct., A. Capwell Wyckoff, "River Bank Position," Boys' Life, p. 12 (Google preview). From the entry river runner
  • Is this mere bluff for time?1927, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], Max Carrados Mysteries. From the entry verbum sap
  • However, when whole flatsful began to make similar explanations under similar circumstances, I awoke to the fact that I had been bluffed.1905 May 21, “Woes of Tax Assessor Many and Laughable. By a Deputy.”, in Worker’s Magazine: For the Man Who Works with Hand or Brain (The…. From the entry awaken

Meaning of bluff

  1. noun An act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one’s position in order to intimidate or deceive; braggadocio.
  2. noun An attempt to represent oneself as holding a stronger hand than one actually does.
  3. noun The card game poker.

Full definition of bluff

Questions about bluff in a sentence

How do you use bluff in a sentence?
Bluff is used as a noun, verb and adjective. For example: “That is only bluff, or That is only a bluff.”
What is a short sentence with bluff?
“Bluff and counterbluff, ploy and counterploy.”
What does bluff mean?
Bluff means an act of bluffing; a false expression of the strength of one’s position in order to intimidate or deceive; braggadocio.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: bluff (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this page: “How to use bluff in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/bluff. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.