a thing or person that reduces a shock or protects somebody/something against difficulties 缓冲物；起缓冲作用的人 - buffer against something
Support from family and friends acts as a buffer against stress. 家庭和朋友的支持有助于减缓压力。 - buffer between A and B
She often had to act as a buffer between father and son. 她常常不得不在父子之间扮演调解人角色。 The organization acts as a buffer between the management and the union. 这个组织在资方与工会之间起缓冲作用。 a buffer state (= a small country between two powerful states that helps keep peace between them) 缓冲国（两大国之间有助于维持和平的小国家） a buffer zone (= an area of land between two opposing armies or countries) 缓冲区（两敌对军队或国家之间的地区） Peacekeepers have been sent in to establish a buffer zone between the rival forces. 已经派遣维和部队在交战双方之间建立缓冲带。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + buffer- act as
- provide
- use something as
- …
- state
- zone
- buffer against
- buffer between
- buffer against something
- (British English)
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 （火车头尾或轨道末端的）减震器，缓冲器 - (
computing 计算机 an area in a computer’s memory where data can be stored for a short time 缓存区；缓冲存储区；缓冲器 - (also old buffer)(British English, old-fashioned)
a silly old man 愚蠢老头
Word Originnoun 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’.
Idioms
hit the buffers
- (informal)
if a plan, somebody’s career, etc. hits the buffers, it suddenly stops being successful （计划、事业等）突然受挫 The former tennis star’s comeback trail hit the buffers yesterday when she lost in straight sets. 这位前网球明星的复出之路昨天遇到了阻碍，她直落两盘。