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View synonyms for whiff

whiff

1

[ wif, hwif ]

noun

  1. a trace or hint:

    a whiff of scandal.

  2. a slight trace of odor or smell:

    a whiff of onions.

  3. a slight gust or puff of wind, air, vapor, smoke, or the like:

    a whiff of fresh air.

  4. a single inhalation or exhalation of air, tobacco smoke, or the like:

    I tried smoking once, but had a coughing fit after the first whiff and gave up.

  5. a slight outburst:

    a little whiff of temper.



verb (used without object)

  1. to blow or come in light puffs, such as of wind or smoke:

    A breeze whiffed through the clearing, cooling our faces.

  2. to inhale or exhale in light puffs, such as when smoking tobacco:

    She was sitting on the porch, whiffing on a cigarette.

  3. to move swiftly through the air, creating a slight breeze or swishing sound:

    The ball whiffed past my head and into the net.

  4. Baseball.
    1. to swing without hitting the ball:

      He’s whiffed at 30 percent of pitches this season.

    2. (of a batter) to strike out by swinging at and missing the pitch charged as the third strike.
  5. Informal. to fail in an effort or get something wrong:

    This economic think tank has whiffed on every prediction for the last decade.

verb (used with object)

  1. to blow or drive with light puffs, as the wind does.
  2. to inhale or exhale (air, tobacco smoke, etc.) in light puffs.
  3. to smoke (a pipe, cigar, etc.).
  4. Baseball. (of a pitcher) to cause (a batter) to swing at a pitch and miss or to strike out.
  5. Informal. to fail at or in; get wrong:

    The book had a great beginning, but lost steam as it progressed, and totally whiffed the ending.

    He’s whiffed every opportunity we gave him.

  6. to catch a slight scent or hint of; sniff; smell:

    I broke a small branch off the lilac bush and whiffed the blooms as I walked.

whiff

2

[ wif, hwif ]

noun

  1. any of several flatfishes having both eyes on the left side of the head, of the genus Citharichthys, as C. cornutus horned whiff, inhabiting Atlantic waters from New England to Brazil.

whiff

1

/ wɪf /

noun

  1. a passing odour
  2. a brief gentle gust of air
  3. a single inhalation or exhalation from the mouth or nose


verb

  1. to come, convey, or go in whiffs; puff or waft
  2. to take in or breathe out (tobacco smoke, air, etc)
  3. tr to sniff or smell
  4. slang.
    intr to have an unpleasant smell; stink

whiff

2

/ wɪf /

noun

  1. a narrow clinker-built skiff having outriggers, for one oarsman

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Derived Forms

  • ˈwhiffer, noun

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Other Words From

  • whiff·er noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of whiff1

First recorded in 1600–10; origin uncertain; perhaps a variant of Middle English wef, wef(f)e “bad smell, stench”

Origin of whiff2

First recorded in 1705–15; origin uncertain

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Word History and Origins

Origin of whiff1

C16: of imitative origin

Origin of whiff2

C19: special use of whiff 1

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Example Sentences

Off it, Snyder continues to recirculate his bad air and give the organization an unsavory whiff.

Suddenly, it hits you—a texture of reality carried by a strong whiff of … horse manure.

Some Great Big Story employees caught that whiff of trouble later in 2019 as WarnerMedia began to move employees from Time Warner Center to its new home at Hudson Yards.

From Digiday

We got a whiff of investor enthusiasm last week as the S&P 500 and Nasdaq both rallied to their highest weekly gains in three months.

From Fortune

I appreciate the simple things I took for granted – each breath, whiff of fresh air, the sun and trees.

There were stories of distant strife, in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Northern Ireland, and those stories had the whiff of a different era.

Griswold was undeniably an incursion on democratic powers with a definite whiff of activism.

Nobody should waste their time penning letters that any pediatrician with a whiff of insight will ignore.

I stepped off the plane, caught that first groggy whiff of jet fuel and my body instantly registered where I was.

But alongside all the true-fandom, a whiff of regret lingers.

Then I caught a whiff of burning wood and in ten minutes I was reconnoitering a tiny glade.

The next instant he caught a whiff of smoke and saw it rising in a dense cloud through the trees.

A whiff of foreign smell and a sound of foreign speech reached the passengers at about the same moment.

At last the fire of the corsair ceased, and a whiff of air carried away the smoke.

Then when he caught a faint whiff of the game, he would stop short, and look around, and wag his tail.

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