semi-bluff

noun

A type of bluff where the bluffer believes that the bluff has some chance of immediate success and also that they have some chance of improving their hand to win at a showdown.

OriginEnglish bluff ← Latin sēmi- ← Proto-Indo-European *sēmi →
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Meanings

nounsemi-bluff (plural semi-bluffs)

plural semi-bluffs · alternative semibluff

  1. card gamesA type of bluff where the bluffer believes that the bluff has some chance of immediate success and also that they have some chance of improving their hand to win at a showdown.
verbsemi-bluff (third-person singular simple present semi-bluffs, present participle semi-bluffing, simple past and past participle semi-bluffed)

present singular third person semi-bluffs · participle present semi-bluffing · participle past semi-bluffed · past semi-bluffed · alternative semibluff

  1. card gamesTo attempt a semi-bluff

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*sem-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*sēmi
  3. Latinsēmi-
  4. Englishsemi-
  5. Englishbluff
  6. Englishsemi-bluff

From semi- + bluff.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

semi-bluff. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semi-bluff

MLA

“semi-bluff.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semi-bluff. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “semi-bluff,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/semi-bluff.

Source: semi-bluff on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.