whiff

¹ American  

[hwif, wif] / ʰwɪf, wɪf /

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.

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verb (used without object)

• whiffs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• whiffed,
  past participle,  past
• whiffing
  present participle

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)

• whiffs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• whiffed,
  past participle,  past
• whiffing
  present participle

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 American  

[hwif, wif] / ʰwɪf, wɪf /

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.

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whiff ¹ British  

/ wɪf /

noun

1. a passing odour

2. a brief gentle gust of air

3. a single inhalation or exhalation from the mouth or nose

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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 British  

/ wɪf /

noun

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• whiffer
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• whiffing
  present
• whiffed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• whiff
  simple
• whiffs
  simple
• have whiffed
  perfect
• has whiffed
  perfect
• am whiffing
  progressive
• are whiffing
  progressive
• is whiffing
  progressive
• have been whiffing
  perfect progressive
• has been whiffing
  perfect progressive

Past

• whiffed
  simple
• had whiffed
  perfect
• was whiffing
  progressive
• were whiffing
  progressive
• had been whiffing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will whiff
  simple
• will have whiffed
  perfect
• will be whiffing
  progressive
• will have been whiffing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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

Explanation

A whiff can mean the hint of something you smell. When you drive past the sewage treatment plant and suddenly roll up your car windows, it's usually because you've gotten a whiff of the plant's special odor. Whiff can be used as either a noun or verb, and it implies a brief or small puff or sniff. A person can have "a whiff of the exotic," which means they are living like the rest of us, but there is a little something about them that seems foreign or different. Sometimes, of course, odors are so overpowering that a small sniff is all you need: "Take a whiff of this," your friend might say to you, holding out a carton of sour milk. In that case, one whiff will be more than enough.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

whiff whiffs whiffed whiffing

But many of Reddit’s de facto rulers—the unpaid, mostly-anonymous moderators who police each subreddit and wield automated management tools—are determined to keep any other whiff of marketing out of the organic feeds they lovingly cultivate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

If every Miyazaki movie has a whiff of biographical relevance, one might see “Kiki’s Delivery Service” as his statement of creative purpose and motivation.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026

Saito stood in line for about 45 minutes to catch a whiff, which Saito said “smelled like a trash room.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026

A big whiff of inflation also permeated the S&P report.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026

We both think I’m joking until I catch a whiff of my shrimpy catering pants on the hamper and I jog to the bathroom and puke.

From "Ask the Passengers" by A.S. King

In referencing punk culture, Gyllenhaal whiffs her mark, which is somehow even more punk.

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026

This is just one way “Crime 101” completely whiffs the subtext.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026

Snell racked up 19 whiffs on Saturday, tied for third-most by a Dodgers pitcher in a game this season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2025

In what should have been the easiest article to write in Mr. Plaschke’s illustrious career, Bill completely whiffs when comparing Kershaw to Koufax.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2025

I’ve heard them at it sometimes, caught whiffs of their private conversations.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

But it turned out they whiffed on him—and lost their own star in the process.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026

Howden had a chance to double the lead less than six minutes before the second intermission, but he whiffed trying to bat a loose puck in an open net from the right side.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2026

Collectively, Wall Street has whiffed on its forecasts in 2026.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

In their mutual aim for a modern twist on a timeless classic, both the star-studded, multi-million dollar Apple TV+ movie and the low-budget indie comedy whiffed it entirely.

From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025

People were more often-he searched for a simile, found one in his work-torches, blazing away until they whiffed out.

From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury

Many have questioned whether Jarmond should be involved in selecting Foster’s replacement after so badly whiffing on his hiring.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025

Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani each struck out on three pitches from Rangers setup man David Robertson, Betts swinging through a 93-mph cut-fastball and Ohtani whiffing on an 86-mph, down-and-in knuckle-curve.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2024

Besides whiffing on his pass to clear the puck on Montreal’s first goal, Hill said he was happy with his performance while improving to 5-0-1 after the first month of the season.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 31, 2023

And a year after whiffing on four tackles attempts against Oregon, Turner — club, cast and all — didn’t miss a tackle.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 21, 2023

“I got a new character for you,” Jack said, whiffing at a snowball with his stick.

From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu

Related Words

• aroma
• breath
• fume
• hint
• odor
• puff
• scent