buffer1

[buhf-er] /ˈbʌf ər/
noun
1.
an apparatus at the end of a railroad car, railroad track, etc., for absorbing shock during coupling, collisions, etc.
2.
any device, material, or apparatus used as a shield, cushion, or bumper, especially on machinery.
3.
any intermediate or intervening shield or device reducing the danger of interaction between two machines, chemicals, electronic components, etc.
4.
a person or thing that shields and protects against annoyance, harm, hostile forces, etc., or that lessens the impact of a shock or reversal.
5.
any reserve moneys, negotiable securities, legal procedures, etc., that protect a person, organization, or country against financial ruin.
6.
buffer state.
7.
Ecology. an animal population that becomes the prey of a predator that usually feeds on a different species.
8.
Computers. a storage device for temporarily holding data until the computer is ready to receive or process the data, as when a receiving unit has an operating speed lower than that of the unit feeding data to it.
9.
Electronics. a circuit with a single output activated by one or more of several inputs.
10.
Chemistry.
  1. any substance or mixture of compounds that, added to a solution, is capable of neutralizing both acids and bases without appreciably changing the original acidity or alkalinity of the solution.
  2. Also called buffer solution. a solution containing such a substance.
verb (used with object)
11.
Chemistry. to treat with a buffer.
12.
to cushion, shield, or protect.
13.
to lessen the adverse effect of; ease:
The drug buffered his pain.
Origin
1825-35; buff2 + -er1
Related forms
unbuffered, adjective

buffer2

[buhf-er] /ˈbʌf ər/
noun
1.
a device for polishing or buffing, as a buff stick or buff wheel.
2.
a worker who uses such a device.
Origin
1850-55; buff1 + -er1

buffer3

[buhf-er] /ˈbʌf ər/
noun, British Slang.
1.
a foolish or incompetent person.
2.
a fellow; man.
3.
a chief boatswain's mate in the British navy.
Origin
1680-90; origin uncertain
Examples from the web for buffers
  • The situation could threaten the marine food chain and undercut one of the world's natural buffers to global warming.
  • They see themselves, alternately, as lifesaving buffers or double-sided punching bags.
  • The camera then runs continuously and buffers up to five hours of video.
  • buffers overflow when a data string is written into memory without its length being checked by the program.
  • They're basically spatial buffers, protecting the city from its own geology.
  • Meanwhile loss of wetlands, stream buffers and floodplain storage capacity continues.
  • Humidity or water from the environment buffers those reactions, slowing their effects.
  • Naturally, as climate buffers, these layers have significant impact on temperate changes within a given time period.
  • Thus the colleges look for buffers and safeguards to give them some control.
  • Fairways have forest buffers between them, with several water hazards providing additional challenges.
British Dictionary definitions for buffers

buffer1

/ˈbʌfə/
noun
1.
one of a pair of spring-loaded steel pads attached at both ends of railway vehicles and at the end of a railway track to reduce shock due to contact
2.
a person or thing that lessens shock or protects from damaging impact, circumstances, etc
3.
(chem)
  1. an ionic compound, usually a salt of a weak acid or base, added to a solution to resist changes in its acidity or alkalinity and thus stabilize its pH
  2. Also called buffer solution. a solution containing such a compound
4.
(computing) a memory device for temporarily storing data
5.
(electronics) an isolating circuit used to minimize the reaction between a driving and a driven circuit
6.
short for buffer state
7.
(informal) hit the buffers, to finish or be stopped, esp unexpectedly
verb (transitive)
8.
to insulate against or protect from shock; cushion
9.
(chem) to add a buffer to (a solution)
Word Origin
C19: from buff²

buffer2

/ˈbʌfə/
noun
1.
any device used to shine, polish, etc; buff
2.
a person who uses such a device

buffer3

/ˈbʌfə/
noun
1.
(Brit, informal, offensive) a stupid or bumbling man (esp in the phrase old buffer)
Word Origin
C18: perhaps from Middle English buffer stammerer
Word Origin and History for buffers

buffer

n.

1835, agent noun from obsolete verb buff "make a dull sound when struck" (mid-16c.), from Old French bufe "a blow, slap, punch" (see buffet (n.2)); hence also "something that absorbs a blow."

v.

1894, from buffer (n.). Related: Buffered; buffering.

buffers in Medicine

buffer buff·er (bŭf'ər)
n.
A substance that minimizes change in the acidity of a solution when an acid or base is added to the solution. v. buff·ered, buff·er·ing, buff·ers
To treat a solution with a buffer.

buffers in Science
buffer
  (bŭf'ər)   

  1. Chemistry A substance that prevents change in the acidity of a solution when an acid or base is added to the solution or when the solution is diluted. Buffers are used to make solutions of known pH, especially for instrument calibration purposes. Natural buffers also exist in living organisms, where biochemical reactions are very sensitive to changes in pH.

  2. Computer Science A device or an area of a computer that temporarily stores data that is being transferred between two machines that process data at different rates, such as a computer and a printer.


buffers in Culture

buffer definition


In chemistry, the components of a solution that can neutralize either an acid or a base and thus maintain a constant pH.

Note: Buffers are often used in medications designed to decrease acidity in the stomach.