A vocabulary of landscape — a landscape of words
1068 entries
chuff
The explosive, breathy exhalation a bear makes as a warning — part snort, part cough, part bark. Not a growl. A chuff is the sound of a bear deciding whether you’re a threat. If you hear it, you’ve been noticed.
Etymology
Imitative — the word echoes the sound itself, the sharp puffing exhalation. Related to chuff in the sense of a steam engine’s breathy exhaust, and to dialectal English chuff for a puff or blast of air.