chaff
- 01 C2 Proficiency
n.the dry outer parts of grain that are removed before the grain is eaten.
n.the husks of corn or other seed separated by winnowing or threshing.
Simple“The wind blew the light chaff away while the heavy grain fell to the ground.”
In context“Traditional winnowing techniques rely on the wind to separate the lighter chaff from the denser, edible kernels of wheat.”
UsageUncountable in this sense.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
n.something that is worthless or not important compared to the good parts.
n.worthless matter; the trivial or useless parts of something otherwise valuable.
Simple“A good editor helps you separate the wheat from the chaff in your writing.”
In context“The critic's job is to sift through the seasonal releases and separate the artistic wheat from the commercial chaff.”
UsageCommonly used in the idiom 'separate the wheat from the chaff'.
Antonyms - 03 C2 Proficiency
n.strips of metal dropped by planes to confuse enemy radar.
n.strips of metal foil or glass fibre dropped from an aircraft to create false echoes on radar screens.
Simple“The pilot deployed chaff to hide the jet from the tracking system.”
In context“Modern electronic warfare suites automatically deploy chaff and flares when a missile lock is detected by the aircraft's sensors.”
Synonyms - 04 C2 Proficiency
n.friendly, joking talk or teasing.
n.light, good-natured ridicule or teasing; banter.
Simple“The two old friends enjoyed a bit of harmless chaff over dinner.”
In context“Their conversation was filled with the easy chaff of people who had known each other since childhood.”
- 05 C2 Proficiency
v.to tease someone in a friendly way.
v.to mock or tease in a good-natured manner.
Simple“They chaffed him about his new hat until he finally took it off.”
In context“The soldiers chaffed their comrade about his supposed romantic conquests during their long march back to camp.”
UsageUsually takes a direct object.
From Middle English chaf, from Old English ċeaf, from Proto-West Germanic *kaf. Cognate with Scots caff, Saterland Frisian Sääf, West Frisian tsjêf, Dutch kaf, German Low German Kaff, regional German Kaff.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.