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

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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

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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

“There’s nothing like attractive real yields and a whiff of slower growth to shift the narrative and spur a renewed bid into rates,” said Melson at Natixis.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

There was also a whiff of crass commercialization in making money from airing private details of royal family life in public.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

There is much work to do in defence, for sure, but they can do that work from a position of strength - with the whiff of an extra £40m in their nostrils.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 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

He shrugged innocently, the gesture releasing a strong whiff of cologne.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

The laughs keep coming, especially when a little bot in a soccer jersey whiffs a kick and splats on its back.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026

Despite those whiffs of corruption, the deal could let the Department of Defense acquire shares in NABEP, the Wall Street Journal reports.

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

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

From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026

And he concluded his performance with 14 swings-and-misses overall, the most whiffs he had generated in a game all year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2025

The air was calm, though animals’ slops and whiffs of burning wood made it rank.

From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026

Hawke: Something that bothered Rick was confidence or anything that whiffed of overt masculinity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 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

But of the 16 heaters the Dodgers swung at against Rea, they whiffed six times, put only three in play and recorded just one hit — a Michael Conforto single in the second.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 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

And he struck out whiffing on a slider in the opposite batter’s box.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

But when they did try to attack it, they could do nothing with it, whiffing on the pitch five times and recording outs on the only two that were put in play.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 5, 2025

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

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