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sniff - 9 dictionary results
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sniff

  [snif]
Use sniff in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to draw air through the nose in short, audible inhalations.
2. to clear the nose by so doing; sniffle.
3. to smell by short inhalations.
4. to show disdain, contempt, etc., by or as by sniffing.
–verb (used with object)
5. to perceive by or as by smelling: to sniff a scandal.
6. to inhale through the nose: to sniff the air.
–noun
7. an act of sniffing; a single, short, audible inhalation.
8. the sound made by such an act.
9. a scent or odor perceived: a sniff of perfume.
Origin:
1300–50; ME; back formation from snivel

Related forms:
sniff⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To sniff
sniff   (snĭf)   
v.   sniffed, sniff·ing, sniffs

v.   intr.
    1. To inhale a short, audible breath through the nose, as in smelling something.
    2. To sniffle.
  2. To use the sense of smell, as in savoring or investigating: sniffed at the jar to see what it held.
  3. To regard something in a contemptuous or dismissive manner: The critics sniffed at the adaptation of the novel to film.
  4. Informal To pry; snoop: The reporters came sniffing around for more details.
v.   tr.
  1. To inhale forcibly through the nose: sniffed the cool morning air.
  2. To smell, as in savoring or investigating: sniffed the lilacs; sniffed the breeze for traces of smoke.
  3. To perceive or detect by or as if by sniffing: dogs that sniffed out the trail through the snow; sniffed trouble ahead.
  4. To utter in a contemptuous or haughty manner: The countess sniffed her disapproval.
n.  
  1. An instance or the sound of sniffing.
  2. Something sniffed or perceived by or as if by sniffing; a whiff: a sniff of perfume; a sniff of scandal.

[Middle English sniffen, probably of Scandinavian origin.]
sniff'a·ble adj., sniff'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Sniff

Sniff\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Sniffedor Snift; p. pr. & vb. n. Sniffing.] [OE. sneven; akin to snivel, snuff; cf. Dan. snive to sniff. See Snuff, v. t.] To draw air audibly up the nose; to snuff; -- sometimes done as a gesture of suspicion, offense, or contempt.

So ye grow squeamish, gods, and sniff at heaven. --M. Arnold.

Sniff

Sniff\, v. t. 1. To draw in with the breath through the nose; as, to sniff the air of the country.

2. To perceive as by sniffing; to snuff, to scent; to smell; as, to sniff danger.

Sniff

Sniff\, n. The act of sniffing; perception by sniffing; that which is taken by sniffing; as, a sniff of air.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : sniff
Spanish: resollar,
German: schniefen,
Japanese: 鼻で吸う
More Translations »

sniff

v.,n.
1. To watch IP packets traversing a local network. Most often in the phrase `packet sniffer', a program for doing same. 2.Synonym for poll.
Jargon File 4.2.0
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sniff 
c.1340, of imitative origin; possibly related to snyvelen (see snivel). As a synonym for smell (v.) it dates from 1845. In ref. to cocaine from 1925. The noun is first recorded 1767; the scornful sense is from 1859.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Sniff
A C++/C programming environment providing browsing, cross-referencing, design visualisation, documentation and editing support. Developed by UBS Switzerland and marketed by takeFive Salzburg.
[The Jargon File]

sniff
poll

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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