sniffle
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
-
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
However, once the coronavirus began to spread, many wondered if presenteeism would wane as the public grew more fearful of those with a cough or sniffle — but that didn’t seem to last long.
From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2024
For some of us, Covid is just a sniffle - not even enough to make you go digging around in the bathroom cabinet to see if there is a lateral flow test hiding in there.
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2023
It’s a sniffle, a tickle in the throat and a headache.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 30, 2022
Not a sniffle, not a candy wrapper crackling, not a creak in the wooden church pews, nothing.
From "The Boy in the Black Suit" by Jason Reynolds
It made parents more wary of illness, so when children get sniffles, they want to keep them off.
From BBC ● May 5, 2025
“Be prepared for the possibility that those sniffles or symptoms after coming back will be COVID.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 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
Fall and winter bring higher circulation of sniffles, sneezes and coughs.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 2, 2023
Rose sniffles and whispers finally, “So I closed the phone and we got on the plane. I ... I never made the call.”
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
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
She sniffled and paused frequently to contain emotions that threatened to derail her intentions.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 8, 2022
Subsequent jurors held back tears, or sniffled, their faces distraught.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 11, 2022
After they marched out, men and women sniffled in the silence that the pipers left.
From Washington Times ● Feb. 29, 2020
Fifi sniffled as she patted her half into a small clay ball.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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
While playing a game of “Name that Tagline” with Evans, Wilson struggled to contain his sniffling and sipped on his tall glass of milk until it was empty.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2025
Are we still paying off our pandemic-induced “immunity debt,” or is there another reason that it feels like we’re all sniffling and coughing and just feeling sick?
From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2024
I was worried to hear you sniffling worse than the day before.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
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.
