as in thump
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
he got a biff in the noggin as his reward for trying to intervene in the fight
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to smack
to deliver a blow to (someone or something) usually in a strong vigorous manner
the elderly woman swung her purse and biffed the mugger upside the head
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of biff
Mike Meehall Wood, Forbes, 25 May 2021
Here are the best biffs: Between now and Saturday night, each of the 25 finalist robots will get one chance to run through the gauntlet.
—Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, 5 June 2015
Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Noun
Nobody loves the old school biff more than me.
—Mike Meehall Wood, Forbes, 25 May 2021
Here are the best biffs: Between now and Saturday night, each of the 25 finalist robots will get one chance to run through the gauntlet.
—Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, 5 June 2015
Verb
The Dodgers have by no means biffed this series.
—Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for biff
Noun
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Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
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The experimental jet, part of NASA’s Quesst mission, is designed to fly faster than the speed of sound while producing only a soft sonic thump instead of a disruptive boom.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
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On Wednesday, the Braves had been in an 0-for-14 slump with runners in scoring position until Baldwin smacked a two-out single to left with the bases loaded in the second.—
Chad Bishop,
AJC.com,
1 Apr. 2026
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Other incidents over the years have seen fans grab at Nikki Bella or actually smacking Alex Bliss on the backside as Nia Jax was carrying her over her shoulder from a previous segment.—
Matthew Couden,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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For the past 20 days, Weinberg, a farmer and doula, has been living between the thud of Hezbollah missiles and the crack of Israeli artillery.—
Lior Soroka,
Washington Post,
20 Mar. 2026
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That polish doesn’t stop it from being seriously grating at times, though, especially when some of its jokes land with a thud.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Crow-Armstrong had support from his team during Friday’s news conference, where first baseman Michael Busch, manager Craig Counsell, hitting coach Dustin Kelly, assistant hitting coach John Mallee and staff assistant AJ Lewis took in the scene.—
Meghan Montemurro,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
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Alcantara left the mound with a lead, courtesy of the bottom of Miami’s lineup stringing together hits in the second.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Virginia made one last push, cutting TCU’s lead to 65-55, but the Horned Frogs quickly delivered the knockout blow as Miles knocked down a 3 and Suarez hit sophomore center Clara Silva for a layup to end Virginia’s hopes of another upset.—
Steven Johnson,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Mar. 2026
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The Israeli military later said raw materials are processed for enrichment at the Yazd plant and the strike was a major blow to Iran’s nuclear program.—
Farnoush Amiri,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Airlines across the region, like Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific are slapping hefty fuel surcharges on flights; Vietnam and the Philippines are even weighing whether to ground planes.—
Nicholas Gordon,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
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This month, the influential environmental group Conservation Colorado filed ballot measures with the state elections office that would slap stricter penalties on the energy industry for the pollution and contamination that result from its operations.—
John Aguilar,
Denver Post,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Here’s where the viral clip gets its real punch.—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
30 Mar. 2026
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Our expert take The Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card packs a punch for a $95 annual fee card, offering annual travel credits, comprehensive travel protections and more.—
Jason Stauffer,
CNBC,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The 14ers banged drums and danced like no one was watching.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
29 Mar. 2026
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People fed up with rolling blackouts have staged sporadic protests in recent days, banging pots and shouting slogans against the government, rare demonstrations in a country known for repressing dissent.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Biff.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/biff. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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