English Reference

Word

muff

US/ˈməf/

UK/mˈʌf/

Definition

n. a very rude and informal word for a woman's breast. It is considered offensive and should be avoided in polite conversation.

n. a vulgar and informal term for a female breast. Highly offensive in register; restricted to crude or sexual contexts.

Examples

“He used a crude word like 'muff' to insult her.”

“The comedian was criticized for using a vulgar term like 'muff' in his stand-up routine.”

Examples

simple

“He used a crude word like 'muff' to insult her.”

contextual

“The comedian was criticized for using a vulgar term like 'muff' in his stand-up routine.”

Real-World Examples

“The researchers provided the dogs with a chin rest to support their heads during the scan and ear muffs for noise protection.”
Ars Technica · 10 Aug 2026

Etymology

Probably from Dutch mof (“muff, mitten”).

Unknown; perhaps a specialised use of Etymology 1, above; or perhaps related to Dutch muffen (“to dote”) and German muffen (“to sulk”).

Shortening.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Domain

Sports

This entry

Level
C2 · Proficiency
Frequency
Occasional
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/muff

English Reference