sniff
Americanverb (used without object)
-
sniffs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sniffed,
past participle, past
-
sniffing
present participle
-
to draw air through the nose in short, audible inhalations.
-
to clear the nose by so doing; sniffle.
-
to smell by short inhalations.
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to show disdain, contempt, etc., by or as by sniffing.
verb (used with object)
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sniffs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sniffed,
past participle, past
-
sniffing
present participle
-
to perceive by or as by smelling.
to sniff a scandal.
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to inhale through the nose.
to sniff the air.
noun
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sniffs
plural
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an act of sniffing; a single, short, audible inhalation.
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the sound made by such an act.
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a scent or odor perceived.
a sniff of perfume.
verb
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to inhale through the nose, usually in short rapid audible inspirations, as for the purpose of identifying a scent, for clearing a congested nasal passage, or for taking a drug or intoxicating fumes
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to perceive or attempt to perceive (a smell) by inhaling through the nose
noun
-
the act or sound of sniffing
-
a smell perceived by sniffing, esp a faint scent
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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sniffsimple
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sniffssimple
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have sniffedperfect
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has sniffedperfect
-
am sniffingprogressive
-
are sniffingprogressive
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is sniffingprogressive
-
have been sniffingperfect progressive
-
has been sniffingperfect progressive
Past
-
sniffedsimple
-
had sniffedperfect
-
was sniffingprogressive
-
were sniffingprogressive
-
had been sniffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sniff
1300–50; Middle English; back formation from snivel
Explanation
Smell that cake baking? No? Take a sniff. A sniff is when you take air in through your nose to smell something. Dogs sniff a lot. It's how they get to know the world. Imagine this when you see the figurative use for sniff meaning to snoop as in, "The detective was sniffing around for clues." Sniff is one of those words that sound like what they mean. Take a big sniff and listen, you'll see. If you have a cold, and you keep sniffing, you have what's known as the sniffles.
Vocabulary lists containing sniff
Smell Words
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"Growing Together" and "When I Grow Up"
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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.
See Examples For:
Behind nondescript exteriors in Virginia’s “Data Center Alley,” some employees log up to 30,000 steps a day while others ride scooters down echoey hallways and sniff for overheating equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
When rescue dog Chloe is not tumbling across the grass on a farm outside India's tech capital Bengaluru, she is learning to sniff human breath for cancer with a little help from AI.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
I worry about how A.I. writing and efforts to sniff it out are changing fully human writing.
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
The Scotland national team are two games into their World Cup campaign and there has not been a sniff of a bicycle kick anywhere.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
“See if he can sniff around and pick up any kind of trail,” Joe told Biff.
From "Mystery Map (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #3)" by Franklin W. Dixon
"In an hour, they can do thousands of sniffs," co-founder Akash Kulgod, 26, told AFP.
From Barron's ● Sep. 7, 2026
It sniffs out patterns invisible to the eye, predicts moves before the market even breathes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
He’s bothered not by the stench of corruption but the criticism, which, he sniffs, is not informed or “anything remotely resembling it.”
From Salon ● Jan. 4, 2025
He sniffs Heather’s hair and faints from delight.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
He sniffs and turns his head to look at me.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
Resy recently suspended a user’s account when it sniffed agent activity, but it’s not clear if this behavior is officially allowed or not.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
The New York Times eventually sniffed out the backroom deal.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2026
One AI lab insider sniffed: “We would be fools reacting to Karpian theatrics; he does well talking his own book.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
The Charlton man provides physicality and endeavour and will pop up with the odd goal here and there - his record of 10 in 49 caps is not to be sniffed at.
From BBC ● Mar. 29, 2026
The great beast nuzzled the horsehair wig with her nose and sniffed at the soup.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
“I believe equities are sniffing out the deteriorating credit quality in the $3 trillion of off-balance sheet items being used to finance the AI capex boom.”
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Cats that had already become accustomed to the original sample began sniffing more again when the BFA fraction was switched.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
Now researchers are teaching it to smell, with the aim of sniffing out potential health concerns and even helping restore people’s lost sense of smell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
It upset some, with one commenter writing, “I’m sitting over here crying for Jackie and Shadow. And he’s off sniffing other feathers.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
“With Collins sniffing around...I don’t want to lose anyone else. My heart can’t take it.”
From "Root Magic" by Eden Royce
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.
