sniffer
[snif-er]
- a person or thing that sniffs.
- a device or mechanism for detecting something.
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Origin of sniffer
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sniffer
Contemporary Examples
Existing methodology can involve plough-like, armor-plated machines, handheld metal detectors and sniffer dogs.
In the face of such compelling images, the immediate response is to send money, food, medicines, relief workers, sniffer dogs.
Historical Examples
She had seen hell, one might say, and is the Sphynxian sniffer at the value of a secret.
Adventures in the ArtsMarsden Hartley
He has had ten dollars' worth of telling to-day by 'Sniffer' Orne.
When Egypt Went BrokeHolman Day
Perhaps the spirit of the sniffer may still inspire some of the jurors who from time to time make themselves heard in your case.
Letters to Dead AuthorsAndrew Lang
sniffer
- a device for detecting hidden substances such as drugs or explosives, esp by their odour
- a computer program or device used to monitor, detect, and capture data on a network
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for sniffer
n.
"the nose," 1858, agent noun from sniff (v.).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper