The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
n. Any of various fungi of the genus Lycoperdon and related genera, having a ball-shaped fruiting body that when pressed or struck releases the enclosed spores in puffs of dust.
n. Informal The rounded head of a dandelion that has gone to seed.
n. Any of various fungi that produce a cloud of brown dust-like spores from their mature fruiting bodies.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. A kind of ball-shaped fungus (Lycoperdon giganteum, and other species of the same genus) full of dustlike spores when ripe; -- called also bullfist, bullfice, puckfist, puff, and puffin.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. Any one of various gasteromycetous fungi, especially of the genus Lycoperdon: so called from their habit of puffing or suddenly discharging a cloud of spores when they are shaken or squeezed after the chamber in which the spores develop breaks open.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. any of various fungi of the family Lycoperdaceae whose round fruiting body discharges a cloud of spores when mature
n. any of various fungi of the genus Scleroderma having hard-skinned subterranean fruiting bodies resembling truffles
Word Usage
"You both belong to the order of what I call puffball politicians. ""