BUFFER • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Buffer

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/bˈəfər/ Listen

noun

Buffer n.

1.

(Mech.)

(a)

An elastic apparatus or fender, for deadening the jar caused by the collision of bodies; as, a buffer at the end of a railroad car.

(b)

A pad or cushion forming the end of a fender, which receives the blow; sometimes called buffing apparatus.

2.

One who polishes with a buff.

3.

A wheel for buffing; a buff.

4.

A good-humored, slow-witted fellow; usually said of an elderly man. (Colloq.)

5.

(Chem.) A substance or mixture of substances which can absorb or neutralize a certain quantity of acid or base and thus keep the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution (as measured by pH) relatively stable. Sometimes the term is used in a medical context to mean antacid.

6.

(Computers) A data storage device or portion of memory used to temporarily store input or output data until the receiving device is ready to process it.

7.

Any object or person that shields another object or person from harm, shock, or annoyance; as, the President's staff is his buffer from constant interruptions of his work.

verb

buffer v. t. (Chem.) To add a buffer (5) to (a solution), so as to reduce unwanted fluctuation of acidity.

See images of 'Buffer'

Etymology of 'Buffer'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Buffer" Quotes from Famous Books

... been a renewal of Turkey's vigor and prestige; then again its situation has been rendered yet more precarious. It has been a buffer between the clashing interests of the great powers. Speaking of Turkey's difficult position in this respect, the London Fortnightly Review, May, 1915, expressed a common ...

— Our Day - In the Light of Prophecy • W. A. Spicer

... come on all right," answered the batteryman, with easy assurance. "Maybe he has gone round by the road. Even if he hasn't, I've seen him make that in one jump many a time. He's an active old buffer ...

— From the Ranks • Charles King

... when the sheriff was on the point of putting him through a rigid cross-examination. The young lawyer's retirement from the scene, coupled with the Sloane family's retaining the celebrated detective, Jefferson Hastings, as a buffer against any questioning of the Sloanehurst people, has given Society, here and in Virginia, a topic for discussion of ...

— No Clue - A Mystery Story • James Hay

... considerably older than her husband, that good woman has become prematurely short-sighted and deaf. This being so, she sits in a corner, not inappropriately, to act the part of grandmother to the players, and to serve as an occasional buffer to such of the children ...

— The Lonely Island - The Refuge of the Mutineers • R.M. Ballantyne

... specified a large sum in his will to be appropriated to the purpose of erecting convenient alms-houses for the poor; but bethinking himself of the possibility that his life might be extended to a distant period, and that in the meantime the poor would continue to buffer, and many of them perish without the projected aid, he became the instant executor of his own will, and lived for years to be a gratified witness of that comfort which must otherwise have been so long delayed. It is descriptive of the "good ...

— Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II • Francis Augustus Cox

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