snuff
1to draw in through the nose by inhaling.
to perceive by or as by smelling; sniff.
to examine by smelling, as an animal does.
to draw air into the nostrils by inhaling, as to smell something; snuffle: After snuffing around, he found the gas leak.
to draw powdered tobacco into the nostrils; take snuff.
Obsolete. to express disdain, contempt, displeasure, etc., by sniffing (often followed by at).
an act of snuffing; an inhalation through the nose; a sniff.
smell, scent, or odor.
a preparation of tobacco, either powdered and taken into the nostrils by inhalation or ground and placed between the cheek and gum.
a pinch of such tobacco.
Idioms about snuff
up to snuff, Informal.
up to a certain standard; satisfactory: His performance wasn't up to snuff.
Origin of snuff
1Other words from snuff
- snuff·ing·ly, adverb
Other definitions for snuff (2 of 2)
the charred or partly consumed portion of a candlewick.
a thing of little or no value, especially if left over.
to cut off or remove the snuff of (candles, tapers, etc.).
snuff out,
to extinguish: to snuff out a candle.
Informal. to kill, murder, or bring to a sudden end: Many lives were snuffed out during the epidemic.
Origin of snuff
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use snuff in a sentence
But he acknowledges a still bigger problem with snuffing it out: people themselves.
The second, political revolution was the Chinese snuffing out of the idea of Tibetan sovereignty once and for all.
In France the habit of snuffing was the most popular mode and to this day the custom is more general than elsewhere.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.To colour a meerschaum was the ambition of smokers, swearing was considered neither low nor vulgar, and snuffing was fashionable.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowThe influences of smoking and snuffing on politics and war are ascertainable.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.
A dog which the soldiers had with them scented them, stopped, and after snuffing about for a few seconds, began to bark furiously.
Hunted and Harried | R.M. BallantyneJem ran to him, and found him standing snuffing the air with his great broad nostrils, like a stag.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend | Charles Reade
British Dictionary definitions for snuff (1 of 3)
/ (snʌf) /
(tr) to inhale through the nose
(when intr, often foll by at) (esp of an animal) to examine by sniffing
an act or the sound of snuffing
Origin of snuff
1Derived forms of snuff
- snuffer, noun
British Dictionary definitions for snuff (2 of 3)
/ (snʌf) /
finely powdered tobacco for sniffing up the nostrils or less commonly for chewing
a small amount of this
any powdered substance, esp one for sniffing up the nostrils
up to snuff informal
in good health or in good condition
mainly British not easily deceived
(intr) to use or inhale snuff
Origin of snuff
2British Dictionary definitions for snuff (3 of 3)
/ (snʌf) /
(often foll by out) to extinguish (a light from a naked flame, esp a candle)
to cut off the charred part of (the wick of a candle, etc)
(usually foll by out) informal to suppress; put an end to
snuff it British informal to die
the burned portion of the wick of a candle
Origin of snuff
3Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with snuff
In addition to the idiom beginning with snuff
- snuff out
also see:
- up to par (snuff)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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