verb (used with object)
1.
to carry lightly and smoothly through the air or over water: The gentle breeze wafted the sound of music to our ears.
2.
to send or convey lightly, as if in flight: The actress wafted kisses to her admirers in the audience.
3.
Obsolete. to signal to, summon, or direct by waving.
verb (used without object)
4.
to float or be carried, especially through the air: The sound wafted on the breeze. The music wafted across the lake.
Origin:
1535–45; back formation from late Middle English waughter armed escort vessel < Dutch or Low German wachter watchman; in some senses confused with waff
1535–45; back formation from late Middle English waughter armed escort vessel < Dutch or Low German wachter watchman; in some senses confused with waff
Related forms
waft·er, noun
un·waft·ed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To waft
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Waft
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is lollygag. Does it mean:
| to bark; yelp. |
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
waft (wɑːft, wɒft) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —vb | |
| 1. | to carry or be carried gently on or as if on the air or water |
| —n | |
| 2. | the act or an instance of wafting |
| 3. | something, such as a scent, carried on the air |
| 4. | a wafting motion |
| 5. | nautical Also called: waif (formerly) a signal flag hoisted furled to signify various messages depending on where it was flown |
| [C16 (in obsolete sense: to convey by ship): back formation from C15 wafter a convoy vessel, from Middle Dutch wachter guard, from wachten to guard; influenced by | |
| 'waftage | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
waft
1513, "to carry over water," back-formation from obs. wafter "convoy ship" (1482), from M.Du. or M.L.G. wachter "a guard," from wachten "to guard," related to waken "rouse from sleep" (see wake (1)). The meaning "pass through air or space, float" is first attested 1704, and
possibly shows some influence of northern dialect waff "cause to move to and fro" (1513), a variant of wave.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
Buyers who want their cars to waft along, smothering out the road's irregularities and keeping quiet about it.
Smoldering mulch embers waft up from a trench and are blown toward the dummy home.
Since thick leathery petals do not readily disintegrate, their molecules do not waft into the air.
The barriers could be tuned to block highway noise, while holes or spaces in the structure would allow birdsong to waft through.
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