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.
-
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
-
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:
This time round, with speculation about whether the current mayor will stand for a fourth term, the Conservatives sniff a chance.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Systematic funds follow trends in the market, picking up on signals sent by price action — either up or down — that their models and trading algorithms sniff out.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026
And if you sniff the lobby of downtown Los Angeles’ Ritz-Carlton, you may detect “bright effervescent notes ... layered with soft florals,” a custom fragrance known as Champagne & Shimmer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 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
“No competition here,” Melissa said with a sniff as she walked onstage.
From "Hopping Mad (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #4)" by Franklin W. Dixon
Dog sniffs could provide an easy and affordable first layer of screening to be deployed at scale, finding potential cases for further testing.
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
“This is a wonderful piece,” my mother sniffs, brushing away a tear.
From "The Running Dream" by Wendelin Van Draanen
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
Yes, they missed out on the league title but they have still won two cups this season, which is not to be sniffed at.
From BBC ● May 22, 2026
Anthropic’s Claude sniffed out a bevy of bugs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
Zvezda stretched his neck out and sniffed her nose.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
“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
But when urine from a different cat was introduced, their interest rose again, and they spent more time sniffing.
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
“It smells funny,” my brother said, sniffing the cup suspiciously.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
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.
