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.
This is the evidence Robinson believes can be England's X-factor at the World Cup, irrespective of those "purists" who may sniff at such an approach.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
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
Stray dogs wander across a disused dry dock and sniff at piles of rusted metal.
From New York Times • Aug. 19, 2022
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
The Incorrigible children slid more gracefully off their mounts and began to sniff at the air, while the three smaller wolves ran in tight circles, whimpering and skimming their muzzles along the ground.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
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.
