sniffle
Americanverb (used without object)
-
sniffles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sniffled,
past participle, past
-
sniffling
present participle
noun
-
sniffles
plural
-
an act or sound of sniffling.
-
(the) sniffles, a condition, as a cold, marked by sniffling.
This draft is giving me the sniffles.
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
snifflesimple
-
snifflessimple
-
have sniffledperfect
-
has sniffledperfect
-
am snifflingprogressive
-
are snifflingprogressive
-
is snifflingprogressive
-
have been snifflingperfect progressive
-
has been snifflingperfect progressive
Past
-
sniffledsimple
-
had sniffledperfect
-
was snifflingprogressive
-
were snifflingprogressive
-
had been snifflingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sniffle
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:
The movie has no time to mine the psychology underneath their clash, let alone summon a sniffle for the other pitiful characters who die during this escapade.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
"Pastina is the cure for any cold, sore throat or sniffle," Ali Abene Dahlhaus wrote on Facebook.
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2023
It’s a sniffle, a tickle in the throat and a headache.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 30, 2022
Ms Adgey said people must understand the threat of RSV and that for some, especially children, it is not just a little sniffle or cold.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2022
You could hear every shift in the seats in that church, every cough, every sniffle.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
It made parents more wary of illness, so when children get sniffles, they want to keep them off.
From BBC ● May 5, 2025
We tend to think of the disease as a respiratory problem, given all the coughs and sniffles it produces, but it’s really more of a vascular disease, impacting any system that relies on blood vessels.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2024
To deliver sentiment, the film instead relies on a score that sniffles as though a racehorse is being taken out to get shot.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2024
And if you must leave the house and go anywhere there’s a crowd and have symptoms such as sniffles, “wear a mask,” Ovsepyan said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2024
With the guards close by she felt she could get through it without melting into sniffles, or worse.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
He sniffled as the postgame news conference was about to begin.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 26, 2023
Quinn could be seen visibly tearing up throughout Burrows’ speech, while the crowd sniffled at his visible emotion.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2022
Subsequent jurors held back tears, or sniffled, their faces distraught.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2022
I’d never seen soprano Christine Goerke in such a state: Her voice cracked, her nose sniffled, her face turned bright red.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 13, 2022
He sniffled again as we came up on the last hundred meters.
From "Patina" by Jason Reynolds
For the 23-year-old Christmas can be a particularly difficult time as the sounds of other people, chewing, slurping and sniffling make her feel extremely uncomfortable.
From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2025
Lying would be obvious if you’re not coughing, sniffling or sneezing, and insulting to the other person.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
“I don’t really know where you go from here,” Cain said, sniffling.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2025
José stared at the ground, sniffling, pulling up his shirt to wipe away tears.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2025
It comes out, and I hear my mother outside, sniffling, and my dad muttering, probably holding her.
From "It’s Kind of a Funny Story" by Ned Vizzini
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.
