How to Use ruff in a Sentence

ruff

1 of 2 noun
  • South ruffs in dummy and ruffs a club with the queen of trumps.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2024
  • All dogs are good—some are just a little ruff around the edges.
    Kelly O'Sullivan, Country Living, 28 Aug. 2020
  • All dogs are good—some are just a little ruff around the edges.
    Kelly O'Sullivan, Country Living, 25 Aug. 2023
  • The Biden family dogs' time at the White House is off to a ruff start.
    Cydney Henderson, USA TODAY, 31 Mar. 2021
  • The event, perfect after a ‘ruff’ day, will take place near Barkwood Dog Park.
    cleveland, 17 June 2022
  • The animals are the largest members of the weasel family, and look like miniature bears with long tails and a fluffy ruff.
    Theresa MacHemer, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Aug. 2020
  • Pagel, who pulled into Mile 101 with her fur ruff frosted in ice, parked her team and settled in for a five-hour stop.
    Marc Lester, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Feb. 2021
  • Outfits ran the gamut from wooly Norwegian sweaters and camo jackets to fur ruffs and kuspuks.
    Zachariah Hughes, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Mar. 2023
  • John Travolta is having a ruff time trying to get any words out.
    Brenton Blanchet, Peoplemag, 1 Oct. 2022
  • The choristers stand in their stalls wearing white surplices over red cassocks and white ruffs.
    Peter Ross, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2023
  • Steve looked at me from underneath the ruff of his parka, a lovely mist of snow blowing 20 mph across the lake, his line frozen stiff in a dime-size opening in the ice.
    Anchorage Daily News, 2 Jan. 2021
  • Like other Andean condors, Andy was a large black bird with white patches on his wings and a ruff of white feathers around his neck.
    Scott D. Pierce, The Salt Lake Tribune, 18 Aug. 2023
  • Corrine Danner and Diana Martin shared how to make ruffs using skin and fur.
    Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Aug. 2023
  • Pierrot makes an appearance, and a ruff is worthy of Rembrandt.
    Laird Borrelli-Persson, Vogue, 16 Jan. 2023
  • But the zoo wanted only resplendent males, which can weigh nearly twice as much as females and sport a frost-gray ruff around a narrow, pumice-pink face.
    Rebecca Giggs, The Atlantic, 6 May 2022
  • There’s the milliner Stephen Jones in a photo that borrows inspiration from a Dutch master portrait complete with ruff and top hat.
    Blue Carreon, Forbes, 18 Oct. 2021
  • With roots in ancient China, the dignified Chow Chow is best known for the mane-like ruff of fur around its head and shoulders, which is often a reddish-brown color.
    Corinne Sullivan, Woman's Day, 6 Sep. 2022
  • Many of the pieces feel like they could be plucked out of a renaissance era, like the scrunchies that can double as ruffled crowns (or even a ruff!), or the nylon handbags that can be also worn as a fur muff.
    Liana Satenstein, Vogue, 24 Feb. 2021
  • The woman, whose identity remains unknown, dons a white neck ruff, a pink dress with orange accents and fine jewelry.
    Ella Feldman, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Jan. 2023
  • No matter who played him, Pierrot was always recognizable to the audience by his costume of white satin or silk, and his headband and pleated ruff of the same color.
    Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2023
  • Most vultures in cartoons and other pop culture works resemble the Andean condor, the large black vulture in South America with a ruff of white feathers around its neck.
    René A. Guzman, ExpressNews.com, 22 Sep. 2020
  • Her pink brocade dress, frilly neck ruff, and elaborate and prominent jewelry and headdress hint at her social status.
    Natasha Gural, Forbes, 10 Jan. 2023
  • Velvet Queen sunflowers both do it for me: their terra-cotta bronze petals remind me of my eighties childhood, and the contrast between ruff and center is less eye-watering.
    Charlotte Mendelson, The New Yorker, 7 Oct. 2020
  • Another canvas, The Astronomer (2021), shows a man wearing what appears to be a ruff, or distinctive Renaissance collar.
    Isis Davis-Marks, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Apr. 2021
  • Voormann wears a Baroque ruff, as if impersonating a Rembrandt portrait; Kirchherr and Sutcliffe wear matching leather pants.
    The New Yorker, 27 Mar. 2022
  • The other – the ostentatious ruff – also uses its disguise to avoid aggressive assaults.
    Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 8 Nov. 2011
  • One of the pleasures of Dog is how the movie slowly reveals additional layers underneath his ruff exterior, a subtle shift Cumberbatch handles with aplomb.
    Nate Jones, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2021
  • Everything from Indian cows to Elizabethan ruff collars feature in a single painting.
    Rachel Wood, CNN, 18 Aug. 2021
  • Louis Vuitton’s pleated ruff collar, for example, works well over a classic Salvatore Ferragamo button-up.
    Jenny Hartman, WSJ, 11 Dec. 2020
  • Consider those unsmiling dignitaries in seventeenth-century Dutch paintings, solemnly grouped around oak tables, dressed in sober black clothes and white ruffs, administering charity to the deserving poor.
    Ian Buruma, Harper's Magazine, 2 June 2023
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ruff

2 of 2 verb
  • West won and led the queen of hearts, and South ruffed and ran his trumps.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024
  • South ruffs in dummy and ruffs a club with the queen of trumps.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2024
  • When East can’t ruff, South returns a trump to his hand and runs the diamonds to make the slam.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
  • For the dog dad who likes to rough it (or ruff it...), this dog sized sleeping bag is the perfect gift.
    Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, 30 May 2021
  • South then ruffs a club high, leads a trump to dummy’s jack and discards a diamond on the ace of clubs.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
  • Rose then ruffed her last heart in dummy and discarded a diamond on the good fifth club.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024
  • West won and led the queen of hearts, and South ruffed and ran his trumps.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024
  • South ruffs in dummy and ruffs a club with the queen of trumps.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2024
  • When East can’t ruff, South returns a trump to his hand and runs the diamonds to make the slam.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
  • For the dog dad who likes to rough it (or ruff it...), this dog sized sleeping bag is the perfect gift.
    Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, 30 May 2021
  • South then ruffs a club high, leads a trump to dummy’s jack and discards a diamond on the ace of clubs.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
  • Rose then ruffed her last heart in dummy and discarded a diamond on the good fifth club.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024
  • West won and led the queen of hearts, and South ruffed and ran his trumps.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024
  • South ruffs in dummy and ruffs a club with the queen of trumps.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2024
  • When East can’t ruff, South returns a trump to his hand and runs the diamonds to make the slam.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
  • For the dog dad who likes to rough it (or ruff it...), this dog sized sleeping bag is the perfect gift.
    Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, 30 May 2021
  • South then ruffs a club high, leads a trump to dummy’s jack and discards a diamond on the ace of clubs.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
  • Rose then ruffed her last heart in dummy and discarded a diamond on the good fifth club.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024
  • West won and led the queen of hearts, and South ruffed and ran his trumps.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 8 Mar. 2024
  • South ruffs in dummy and ruffs a club with the queen of trumps.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 6 Feb. 2024
  • When East can’t ruff, South returns a trump to his hand and runs the diamonds to make the slam.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024
  • For the dog dad who likes to rough it (or ruff it...), this dog sized sleeping bag is the perfect gift.
    Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes, 30 May 2021
  • South then ruffs a club high, leads a trump to dummy’s jack and discards a diamond on the ace of clubs.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
  • Rose then ruffed her last heart in dummy and discarded a diamond on the good fifth club.
    Frank Stewart, The Mercury News, 27 Feb. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ruff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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