puff vs wind

puff

noun
  • The ability to breathe easily while exerting oneself. 

  • A portion of fabric gathered up so as to be left full in the middle. 

  • A powder puff. 

  • A small quantity of gas or smoke in the air. 

  • A sudden but small gust of wind, smoke, etc. 

  • A light cake filled with cream, cream cheese, etc. 

  • A puffball. 

  • A region of a chromosome exhibiting a local increase in diameter. 

  • Synonym of poof: a male homosexual, especially an effeminate one. 

  • The drug cannabis. 

  • A flamboyant or alluring statement of praise. 

  • A sharp exhalation of a small amount of breath through the mouth. 

  • An act of inhaling smoke from a cigarette, cigar or pipe. 

verb
  • To inflate with pride, flattery, self-esteem, etc.; often with up. 

  • To cause to swell or dilate; to inflate. 

  • To emit smoke, gas, etc., in puffs. 

  • To swell with air; to be dilated or inflated. 

  • To blow as an expression of scorn. 

  • To repel with words; to blow at contemptuously. 

  • To pant. 

  • To breathe in a swelling, inflated, or pompous manner; hence, to assume importance. 

  • To praise with exaggeration; to flatter; to call public attention to by praises; to praise unduly. 

  • To drive with a puff, or with puffs. 

wind

noun
  • The ability to breathe easily. 

  • Flatus. 

  • Breath modulated by the respiratory and vocal organs, or by an instrument. 

  • News of an event, especially by hearsay or gossip. (Used with catch, often in the past tense.) 

  • The region of the solar plexus, where a blow may paralyze the diaphragm and cause temporary loss of breath or other injury. 

  • Real or perceived movement of atmospheric air usually caused by convection or differences in air pressure. 

  • The woodwind section of an orchestra. Occasionally also used to include the brass section. 

  • A direction from which the wind may blow; a point of the compass; especially, one of the cardinal points, which are often called the "four winds". 

  • The act of winding or turning; a turn; a bend; a twist. 

  • One of the five basic elements in Indian and Japanese models of the Classical elements. 

  • Types of playing-tile in the game of mah-jongg, named after the four winds. 

  • Mere breath or talk; empty effort; idle words. 

  • Air artificially put in motion by any force or action. 

  • A bird, the dotterel. 

  • A disease of sheep, in which the intestines are distended with air, or rather affected with a violent inflammation. It occurs immediately after shearing. 

verb
  • To rest (a horse, etc.) in order to allow the breath to be recovered; to breathe. 

  • To perceive or follow by scent. 

  • To turn a boat or ship around, so that the wind strikes it on the opposite side. 

  • To entwist; to enfold; to encircle. 

  • To cause a baby to bring up wind by patting its back after being fed. 

  • To cause to move by exerting a winding force; to haul or hoist, as by a winch. 

  • To turn coils of (a cord or something similar) around something. 

  • To have complete control over; to turn and bend at one's pleasure; to vary or alter or will; to regulate; to govern. 

  • To introduce by insinuation; to insinuate. 

  • To blow air through a wind instrument or horn to make a sound. 

  • To tighten the spring of a clockwork mechanism such as that of a clock. 

  • To travel in a way that is not straight. 

  • To cover or surround with something coiled about. 

  • To turn (a ship) around, end for end. 

  • To expose to the wind; to winnow; to ventilate. 

  • To turn a windmill so that its sails face into the wind. 

  • To cause (someone) to become breathless, as by a blow to the abdomen, or by physical exertion, running, etc. 

How often have the words puff and wind occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )