sniff
verb
\ ˈsnif
\
\
sniffed;
sniffing;
sniffs
Definition of sniff
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: to inhale through the nose especially for smelling
sniffed at the flowers
b
: to take air into the nose in short audible breaths
She sniffed and wiped her nose.
2
: to show or express disdain or scorn
1a
: to get the odor or scent of (something) with the nose : smell
sniffed the freshly baked cookies dogs sniffing the ground
b
: to inhale (something) through the nose : snort
sniffing cocaine
2
: to utter contemptuously
3
: to recognize or detect (something) by or as if by smelling
—usually used with out sniff out trouble
sniff
nounKeep scrolling for more
Synonyms for sniff
Synonyms: Verb
nose, scent, smell, snuff, whiff
Synonyms: Noun
aroma, odor, redolence, scent, smell
Visit the Thesaurus for More
Examples of sniff in a Sentence
Verb
She sniffed and wiped her nose with a tissue. She put perfume on her wrist and sniffed it. The dog sniffed the carpet. He held the flower up to his nose and sniffed. “I guess you don't need my help,” she sniffed.Noun
She said that she felt fine, but her sniffs and coughs told a different story. “I refuse to answer that question,” she said with a sniff. He wanted to avoid the slightest sniff of a scandal. There was still a sniff of hope left for the team.
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
With help from a drug-sniffing police dog, officers found two duffel bags in the back of the SUV containing 27.15 pounds of prepackaged marijuana. — Christine Dempsey, courant.com, "Police: More than 27 pounds of pot found in SUV in Plainfield," 27 Aug. 2019 Many were detected by a pack of 16 feather- and skin-sniffing dogs stationed at airports and bus stations. — Washington Post, "Songbirds silenced as Colombia fights wildlife trafficking," 14 Aug. 2019 Arriving officers deployed a gun-sniffing dog on Ellington Street and recovered a .25-caliber pistol in a backpack. — John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, "Boston police recover three firearms while patrolling near scene of recent gun violence," 9 Aug. 2019 The state’s Supreme Court in May ruled that police had to establish probable cause before using a drug-sniffing dog, a move that led authorities to roll back the role of dogs in drug cases, the Denver Post reported. — Mark D. Wilson, chicagotribune.com, "Law and odor: Police hazy on how to use drug-sniffing dogs under Texas hemp law," 23 July 2019 He was pronounced dead at 3 p.m. The drug-sniffing dog was part of a team conducting a contraband search late Thursday at Staton Correctional Facility in Elmore County. — Carol Robinson | Crobinson@al.com, al.com, "Alabama prison K9 dies after drug raid, will be buried with full honors," 22 July 2019 Recent studies Most recently, in July 2017, TIGHAR and the National Geographic Society sent four forensic sniffing dogs and an archaeological team to Nikumaroro to see if any bones remained. — Alec Forssmann, National Geographic, "Missing! The unsolved mystery of Amelia Earhart's last flight," 1 July 2019 Prosecutors will have to prove that Zhang is dead in the absence of a body, but mounting evidence, including from a cadaver-sniffing dog used by authorities in Christensen's apartment, indicates that a dead body had been there. — Fox News, "Ex-University of Illinois doctoral student killed visiting Chinese scholar, defense admits," 13 June 2019 Pretend it drizzles and a man in an ugly plastic poncho circles the Mathers, all but sniffing the air warily. — Constance Grady, Vox, "Meet the medieval Welsh poet who wrote odes to her vagina," 17 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
On two of five subway lines, riders had a sniff at aromatherapy. — Ephrat Livni, Quartz, "Riders in Vienna have opted for stale subway air over aromatherapy," 10 Aug. 2019 Better to give either or both the stem and blossom end a good sniff. — Bill St. John, The Denver Post, "Get Cooking: How to select (and utilize) melon," 2 July 2019 When in doubt, ask someone close to you for a sniff test. — Karla L. Miller, Washington Post, "Work Advice: ‘Smelly’ co-workers give their side of the story," 12 July 2019 Admittedly, narrow preview builds mean devs could still be fooling us with some smoke and mirrors—this is E3, land of unfinished games—but all of the below demos presented well enough at E3 to pass our sniff test for hype and BS. — Sam Machkovech And Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "The best games, demos, and tech of E3 2019," 14 June 2019 This season is about giving everything a sniff test before possibly tossing it out. — Omar Kelly, sun-sentinel.com, "Kelly: There’s very little that’s appetizing about this Dolphins team | Commentary," 5 June 2019 Please take a seat in the 2019 VW Jetta GLI 35th Anniversary Edition and have a sniff. — Dan Neil, WSJ, "2019 Volkswagen Jetta GLI: The Quietly Legendary Sedan Turns 35," 2 May 2019 Cocomero is a California rosé that has a scratch-n-sniff label, which actually smells like one of the key flavors featured inside the bottle. — Olivia Harrison, refinery29.com, "This Rosé Bottle Has A Scratch-N-Sniff Label," 2 July 2018 Mauro Icardi – one of Europe’s most lethal finishers – was handed only a sniff on goal when rolled in one on one with Donnarumma before rolling it through the legs of the Milan keeper. — SI.com, "AC Milan 0-0 Inter: Nightmare Night for Mauro Icardi Leaves Inter Kicking Themselves in Derby Draw," 4 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sniff.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for sniff
sniff
verb
English Language Learners Definition of sniff
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to take air into your nose in short breaths that are loud enough to be heard
: to smell (something or someone) by putting your nose close to it and taking air in through your nose in short breaths
: to take (something, such as fumes or a drug) into your body by inhaling it through your nose in order to get intoxicated
sniff
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of sniff (Entry 2 of 2)
: an act or the sound of drawing air into the nose especially in order to smell something or because you are sick or have been crying
: an expression of dislike or disapproval
: a small amount or sign of something
See the full definition for sniff in the English Language Learners Dictionary