Meaning & use
fluff balls
Last updated
“fluff balls” is a form of “fluff ball”.
Meanings
nounplural
Small loose lumps of soft fibers, hair or dust that gather in corners, pockets or on fabric.
Grammar: Usually plural for a collection: fluff balls collect under the sofa; one is a fluff ball.
Patterns
- fluff balls on something
- fluff balls under something
When I moved the bed, a crowd of fluff balls rolled out from underneath it.
The old sweater was covered in tiny fluff balls after one wash.
He emptied the dryer filter and found a handful of grey fluff balls.
nounpluralinformalhumorous
A fond nickname for a very fluffy young animal, especially a kitten, chick or puppy.
Grammar: Used as a pet name or description: the fluff balls are asleep.
Patterns
- a litter of fluff balls
The two kittens are real fluff balls, all fur and no weight.
Look at those yellow chicks, they are such cute little fluff balls.
Our hamster babies were tiny fluff balls with huge eyes.
Word forms
| singular | fluff ball |
|---|
Common combinations
- gather fluff balls
- Wool socks tend to gather fluff balls in the wash.
- pick off fluff balls
- She sat picking fluff balls off her coat.
- cute fluff balls
- The new puppies are cute fluff balls.
- fluff balls of dust
- Fluff balls of dust drifted across the floor.
Synonyms and how they differ
- dust bunnies
- Dust bunnies is the usual American phrase for the floor kind and sounds slightly more playful than fluff balls.
- lint
- Lint is the uncountable word for the fibers themselves, especially from clothes, whereas fluff balls are the visible lumps.
- pills
- Pills are the tiny balls that form on the surface of knitted cloth, a narrower use than fluff balls.
Word family
Commonly confused: fluff balls or fur balls?
fluff balls vs fur balls
Fur balls (hairballs) are the clumps of hair a cat coughs up, not general household fluff.
Practice
After the vacuum broke, small ___ built up under every chair.
Choose one answer.
Fluff balls are lumps of dust and fibers that gather on floors. The other options are real phrases but do not describe dust under furniture.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “fluff balls”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.