{
    "term": "buffer",
    "partOfSpeech": "noun",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": 1,
            "definition": "a thing or person that reduces a shock or protects somebody/something against difficulties",
            "sensetop": "buffer against somethingbuffer between A and B",
            "cefr": "c1",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "Support from family and friends acts as a buffer against stress.",
                    "contextForm": "buffer against something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "She often had to act as a buffer between father and son.",
                    "contextForm": "buffer between A and B"
                },
                {
                    "text": "The organization acts as a buffer between the management and the union."
                },
                {
                    "text": "a **buffer state** *(= a small country between two powerful states that helps keep peace between them)*"
                },
                {
                    "text": "a **buffer zone** *(= an area of land between two opposing armies or countries)*"
                },
                {
                    "text": "Peacekeepers have been sent in to establish a buffer zone between the rival forces."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "verb + buffer": ["act as", "provide", "use something as"],
                "buffer + noun": ["state", "zone"],
                "preposition": ["buffer against", "buffer between"]
            }
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 2,
            "definition": "one of two round metal devices on the front or end of a train, or at the end of a railway track, that reduce the shock if the train hits something",
            "labels": "(British English)",
            "cefr": "c2",
            "examples": [],
            "topics": ["Transport by bus and train"]
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 3,
            "definition": "an area in a computer’s memory where data can be stored for a short time",
            "labels": "(computing)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": 4,
            "definition": "an informal way of referring to an old man that shows that you do not respect him",
            "labels": "(British English, old-fashioned, informal)",
            "examples": []
        },
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "if a plan, somebody’s career, etc. hits the buffers, it suddenly stops being successful",
            "labels": "(informal)",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The former tennis star’s comeback trail hit the buffers yesterday when she lost in straight sets."
                }
            ],
            "topics": ["Difficulty and failure"]
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbʌfə(r)/",
                "audio": "bu/buffer/buffer__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ˈbʌfər/",
                "audio": "bu/buffer/buffer__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "noun senses 1 to 2 mid 19th cent.: probably from obsolete buff (verb), imitative of the sound of a blow to a soft body. noun sense 3 mid 18th cent.: probably from obsolete buff (imitative of the sound of a blow to a soft body), or from dialect buff ‘stutter, splutter’ (possibly the same word). In late Middle English buffer had the sense ‘stammerer’."
}