Meanings
plural puffballs
- Any of various fungi, usually globose, that produce a cloud of brown dust-like spores from their mature fruiting bodies, especially in family Lycoperdaceae.
- broadlyAny of various mushrooms with globose fruiting bodies.
- A dandelion flower that has gone to seed, a dandelion clock.
- figurativelySomething lacking substance.
Scads of souls thought the record was yet another puffball from ex-Beatle Paul.
1990, Wayne Jancik, The Billboard Book of One-Hit Wonders, →ISBN, page 371
Synonyms & antonyms
nounany of various fungi of the family Lycoperdaceae whose round fruiting body discharges a cloud of spores when mature
nounany of various fungi of the genus Scleroderma having hard-skinned subterranean fruiting bodies resembling truffles
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Translations
Ancient Greek πέζις
- πέζις (pézis)any of various fungi
Bulgarian праханка
- праханка (prahanka)any of various fungi
Catalan pet de llop
- pet de llopany of various fungi
Czech pýchavka
- pýchavkaany of various fungi
Dutch stuifzwam
- stuifzwamany of various fungi
Estonian murumuna
- murumunaany of various fungi
Finnish tuhkelo
- tuhkeloany of various fungi
French vesse-de-loup
- vesse-de-loupany of various fungi
German Bofist, Bovist
- Bofistany of various fungi
- Bovistany of various fungi
- Stäublingany of various fungi
Hungarian pöfeteg
- pöfetegany of various fungi
Irish béiceadán, bolg béice
- béiceadánany of various fungi
- bolg béiceany of various fungi
- bolgán béiceany of various fungi
Italian vescia
- vesciaany of various fungi
Latvian pūpēdis
- pūpēdisany of various fungi
Māori tūtaeatua
- tūtaeatuaany of various fungi
Norwegian Bokmål røksopp, røyksopp
- røksoppany of various fungi
- røyksoppany of various fungi
Polish kurzawka, purchawka
- kurzawkaany of various fungi
- purchawkaany of various fungi
Portuguese bexiga-de-lobo, bufa-de-lobo
- bexiga-de-loboany of various fungi
- bufa-de-loboany of various fungi
- licoperdoany of various fungi
Russian дождеви́к, де́душкин таба́к
- дождеви́к (doždevík)any of various fungi
- де́душкин таба́к (déduškin tabák)any of various fungi
Scottish Gaelic balg-péiteach, balg-smùid
- balg-péiteachany of various fungi
- balg-smùidany of various fungi
- balg-séididhany of various fungi
Slovak prášivka
- prášivkaany of various fungi
Spanish pedo de lobo, cuesco de lobo
- pedo de loboany of various fungi
- cuesco de loboany of various fungi
Swedish röksvamp
- röksvampany of various fungi
Turkish kurt mantarı, toz mantarı
- kurt mantarıany of various fungi
- toz mantarıany of various fungi
- puf mantarıany of various fungi
- duman mantarıany of various fungi
- osuruk mantarıany of various fungi
Welsh coden fwg, chwysigen fwg
- coden fwgany of various fungi
- chwysigen fwgany of various fungi
Cite this entry
puffball. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puffball
“puffball.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puffball. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “puffball,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/puffball.
Source: puffball on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.