Meaning & use
cuff
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Meanings
nouncountable
The folded or fitted end of a sleeve, close to the wrist.
Grammar: Often plural because shirts have two: the cuffs are frayed.
Patterns
- the cuff of a shirt
- roll up your cuffs
He rolled up the cuffs of his shirt and started washing dishes.
There was a small ink stain on her left cuff.
The coat had a fur cuff.
nouncountableAmerican
A fold turned up at the bottom of a trouser leg.
Grammar: North American use; British speakers say turn-up.
Patterns
- trousers with cuffs
Dust collected in the cuffs of his pants.
The tailor added cuffs to the trousers.
She found a coin in the cuff of her jeans.
nouncountablemedical
A band put around a limb, such as a medical device for measuring blood pressure.
Grammar: Usually named for its job: a blood pressure cuff.
Patterns
- a blood pressure cuff
The nurse wrapped the cuff around my arm.
The cuff inflated until it felt tight.
He wore an ankle cuff for monitoring.
verbtransitiveinformal
To put handcuffs on someone.
Grammar: Takes a person as object: officers cuffed the suspect.
Patterns
- cuff someone
- cuff someone to something
Officers cuffed the man and led him to the car.
The guard cuffed the prisoner's hands behind his back.
She was cuffed and taken in for questioning.
verbtransitiveold-fashioned
To hit someone lightly with an open hand, usually as a playful or mild punishment.
Grammar: Takes a person as object, often with a body part: cuff him on the ear.
Patterns
- cuff someone on the ear
- cuff someone round the head
Grandpa cuffed the boy gently on the ear.
The coach cuffed him round the head, laughing.
She cuffed her little brother for teasing the dog.
Word forms
| plural | cuffs |
|---|---|
| third person singular | cuffs |
| past tense | cuffed |
| -ing form | cuffing |
Common combinations
- French cuff
- He wore a shirt with French cuffs and silver links.
- off the cuff
- She made a speech off the cuff, without notes.
- blood pressure cuff
- The cuff squeezed my arm tightly.
- roll up your cuffs
- Roll up your cuffs before you wash the dishes.
- cuffed to something
- The suspect was cuffed to the rail.
Synonyms and how they differ
- handcuff
- Handcuff is the full, more formal verb for restraining with metal rings, while cuff is its shorter, everyday form.
- slap
- Slap suggests a sharper, noisier hit, while cuff is lighter and often affectionate.
- clip
- Clip is a British informal word for a quick blow to the head, similar to the lighter sense of cuff.
Opposites
Word family
- cuffed adjective
- having cuffs or restrained in cuffs
- handcuff noun
- a metal ring used to restrain a prisoner's wrist
- handcuffs noun
- a pair of linked metal restraints
- cufflink noun
- a small ornament that fastens a shirt cuff
Commonly confused: cuff or cough?
cuff vs cough
Cough is a verb for clearing the throat and is pronounced differently, though they look similar in writing.
Practice
The officer ____ the suspect and put him in the patrol car.
Choose one answer.
Past tense cuffed fits the story and means put handcuffs on. Cuffs and cuff are the wrong tense, and coughed is a different word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cuff”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.