sniff at
Britishverb
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.
What he lacked was a modicum of a chance, a sniff at goal.
From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025
The child of today, spoiled for choice in targeted programming, might sniff at the old shows, but a CGI “Pufnstuf,” which happily no one has proposed, would be all but pointless, and potentially depressing.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 27, 2023
Closer to home in the present, the telescope will sniff at the atmospheres of planets orbiting nearby stars, looking for the infrared signatures of elements and molecules associated with life, like oxygen and water.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 25, 2021
The ability to transform such refrigerator and pantry staples into a knock-your-socks-off dish of cheesy baked pasta is nothing to sniff at.
From Salon • Dec. 11, 2021
I thought she was just going to sniff at me again, but she almost smiled.
From "The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian" by Sherman Alexie
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.
