Buffer may refer to:
- Buffer state, a country lying between two potentially hostile greater powers, thought to prevent conflict between them
- Buffer zone, any area that keeps two or more other areas distant from one another, may be demilitarized
- Buffer (rail transport), a device that cushions the impact of vehicles against each other
- Buffer stop (bumper in U.S.), a device to prevent railway vehicles from going past the end of a section of track
- Recoil buffer, an accessory for firearms, to cushion the impact of recoil
- Buffer (navy), the colloquial term for the senior seaman sailor in a (British Commonwealth) Navy ship
- Buffer wheel, a wheel attached to a motor similar to a pedestal grinder used to smooth and polish metals and other materials
- Film loop, isolates intermittent motion in a movie projector
- A related process for computers & TV receivers in which a film or video "freezes" while the material is loading up again. "Buffer" is often used as a verb here.
People:
- Bruce Buffer, sports announcer
- Michael Buffer, sports announcer
In physical science:
- Buffer solution, a solution which reduces the change of pH upon addition of small amounts of acid or base, or upon dilution
- Buffering agent, the weak acid or weak base in a buffer solution
- Buffer gas, an inert or nonflammable gas
- Buffer (GIS), a zone around a map feature
- Lysis buffer, in biochemistry, a destructor of cell membranes that enables analysis of the compounds within
- Mineral redox buffer, a mineral assemblage which stabilises oxidation state in natural rock systems
In electronics and computer science:
- Data buffer, memory used temporarily to store output or input data
- Framebuffer, a particular type of data buffer for use in graphical display
- Optical buffer, a device that stores optically transmitted data without converting it to the electrical domain
- Buffer amplifier (also sometimes simply called a buffer), an isolating circuit used in electronics or telecommunications
- Buffer (optical fiber), a component used to encapsulate one or more optical fibers in a fiber optic communication cable