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fluff

noun

light, downy particles, as of cotton.
a soft, light, downy mass: a fluff of summer clouds.
something of no consequence: The book is pure fluff, but fun to read.
an error or blunder, especially an actor’s memory lapse in the delivery of lines.

verb (used with object)

to make into fluff; shake or puff out (feathers, hair, etc.) into a fluffy mass (often followed by up): to fluff up the sofa pillows.
to make a mistake in: The leading man fluffed his lines.

verb (used without object)

to become fluffy; move, float, or settle down like fluff.
to make a mistake, especially in the delivery of lines by a performer; blunder.

noun

soft light particles, such as the down or nap of cotton or wool
any light downy substance
an object, matter, etc, of little importance; trifle
informal a mistake, esp in speaking or reading lines or performing music
informal a young woman (esp in the phrase a bit of fluff)

verb

to make or become soft and puffy by shaking or patting; puff up
informal to make a mistake in performing (an action, dramatic speech, music, etc)

“light, feathery stuff,” 1790, apparently a variant of floow “wooly substance, down, nap” (1580s), perhaps from Flemish vluwe, from French velu “shaggy, hairy,” from Latin vellus “fleece,” or Latin villus “tuft of hair” (see velvet). OED suggests fluff as “an imitative modification” of floow, “imitating the action of puffing away some light substance.” Slang bit of fluff “young woman” is from 1903. The marshmallow confection Fluff dates to c.1920 in Massachusetts, U.S.

“to shake into a soft mass,” 1875, from fluff (n.). Meaning “make a mistake” is from 1884, originally in theater slang. Related: Fluffed; fluffing.