What it means
To weaken something that was too strong, usually a character or weapon in a game tweaked by the developers so it stops dominating. Beyond gaming it means to water down or take the bite out of anything: they nerfed the staff discount, they nerfed the portion sizes. The opposite of a buff.
Usage examples
"They nerfed my favourite character and now nobody plays it."
"The canteen quietly nerfed the chips, half the portion for the same price."
Where it comes from
From the Nerf brand of soft foam toys: to nerf a weapon is to make it as harmless as a foam dart, stripping away its power.
Editors of this term
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