huffing

British

/ ˈhʌfɪŋ /

noun

slang the practice of inhaling toxic fumes from glue and other household products for their intoxicating effects

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

huffer noun

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The care support worker showed them the scene through his camera with Edwards "huffing and puffing" on the other end of the phone while getting into position following a five-minute uphill bike push.

From BBC • Jan. 10, 2026

Does he go with the biggest guy on the team in Aday Mara, a 7-foot-3 sophomore whose intense offseason training should prevent all the huffing he did as a freshman?

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2024

I prayed it would finally give me confidence and self-esteem, allow me to enjoy my time with my husband and daughter without worrying about my pants ripping open or huffing up a flight of stairs.

From Slate • Jul. 20, 2024

Forced to slow down, the man who believed “hiking is for people who can’t run” found himself huffing and puffing up a peak in Griffith Park.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2024

He steadied himself on the walls on either side, huffing and puffing and quite worried he was going to blow the house down, when, at last, the stairs flattened into a wide room.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023