plural buffers
1
: any of various devices or pieces of material for reducing shock or damage due to contact
2
: a means or device used as a cushion against the shock of fluctuations in business or financial activity
3
: something that serves as a protective barrier: such as
a
b
: a person who shields another especially from annoying routine matters
c
4
: a substance capable in solution of neutralizing both acids and bases and thereby maintaining the original acidity or basicity of the solution
also
: a solution containing such a substance
5
: a section of computer memory for temporarily storing information
especially
: one that accepts information at one rate and delivers it at another
The streaming video feed continues to download into the buffer while the computer starts playing the movie.
buffered; buffering
ˈbə-f(ə-)riŋ 
; buffers
; buffers
1
: to lessen the shock of : cushion
2
: to treat (something, such as an acid solution) with a buffer
also
: to prepare (aspirin) with an antacid
3
: to collect (data) in a buffer
plural buffers
: someone or something that buffs
especially
: a machine that cleans and polishes
a floor buffer
plural buffers
Examples of buffer in a Sentence
Noun (1)
it took a friend serving as a buffer between the feuding siblings to get them to speak to one another again
the excelsior acts as an additional buffer for the marble bust during shipping
Verb
The trees help buffer the house from the hot summer sun.
The wall buffers the noise of the traffic.
Recent Examples on the Web
Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
Her manager and romantic partner, Helen (Miriam Shor), serves as a buffer between Carol and everyone else.
—Judy Berman, Time, 27 Oct. 2025
Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 23 Oct. 2025
Drinking coffee after breakfast, on the other hand, can help buffer the blood sugar response.
—Stephanie Anderson Witmer, Health, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for buffer
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Noun
That has given them a buffer and momentum which, while unseen in the final league table, has a huge bearing on how a season unfolds.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
Her manager and romantic partner, Helen (Miriam Shor), serves as a buffer between Carol and everyone else.
—Judy Berman, Time, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
This helps create a barrier of warmer air that buffers the foliage against the cold.
—Karl Schneider, IndyStar, 23 Oct. 2025
Drinking coffee after breakfast, on the other hand, can help buffer the blood sugar response.
—Stephanie Anderson Witmer, Health, 20 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for buffer
Cite this Entry
“Buffer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buffer. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
buffer
1 of 2 noun
buff·er
ˈbəf-ər
1
: a substance or mixture of substances (as bicarbonates and some proteins in biological fluids) that in solution tends to stabilize the hydrogen-ion concentration by neutralizing within limits both acids and bases
2
buffer
2 of 2 transitive verb
: to treat (as a solution or its acidity) with a buffer
also
: to prepare (aspirin) with an antacid
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