sniffer
Americannoun
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a device for detecting hidden substances such as drugs or explosives, esp by their odour
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a computer program or device used to monitor, detect, and capture data on a network
Etymology
Origin of sniffer
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.
Even though the chief sniffer, The Dog is no longer here, bitter melons still appear like clockwork reminding me that home, and my own, isn’t, aren’t too far away.
From Salon • May 9, 2026
In the two weeks since Guthrie's disappearance, the FBI and Pima County sheriff's officers have conducted a massive search operation involving helicopters, sniffer dogs, hundreds of officers, and thousands of tips called in.
From BBC • Feb. 15, 2026
Spanish emergency services said several crews - with drones and sniffer dogs - were deployed to look for those missing after Tuesday's collapse.
From BBC • Oct. 8, 2025
Now, UK government scientists have been fighting back, with an unusual arsenal including sniffer dogs, drones and nuclear waste models.
From BBC • Aug. 30, 2025
Her ashen hair sits in a quivering pile atop her head and her spectacles, if not teetering on the end of her sniffer, hang from a sterling chain to rest upon her ample bosom.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
