snuff

[snuhf]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR snuff ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to draw in through the nose by inhaling.

to perceive by or as by smelling; sniff.

to examine by smelling, as an animal does.

verb (used without object)

to draw air into the nostrils by inhaling, as to smell something; snuffle: After snuffing around, he found the gas leak.

to draw powdered tobacco into the nostrils; take snuff.

Obsolete. to express disdain, contempt, displeasure, etc., by sniffing (often followed by at).

noun

an act of snuffing; an inhalation through the nose; a sniff.

smell, scent, or odor.

a preparation of tobacco, either powdered and taken into the nostrils by inhalation or ground and placed between the cheek and gum.

a pinch of such tobacco.

Idioms

up to snuff, Informal.

British.not easily imposed upon; shrewd; sharp.
up to a certain standard; satisfactory: His performance wasn't up to snuff.

Origin of snuff

First recorded in 1520–30, snuff is from the Dutch word snuffen

Related formssnuff·ing·ly, adverb

snuff

[snuhf]

noun

the charred or partly consumed portion of a candlewick.

a thing of little or no value, especially if left over.

verb (used with object)

to cut off or remove the snuff of (candles, tapers, etc.).

Verb Phrases

snuff out,

to extinguish: to snuff out a candle.
to suppress; crush: to snuff out opposition.
Informal.to kill or murder: Many lives were snuffed out during the epidemic.

Origin of snuff

1350–1400; Middle English snoffe < ?

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for snuff

extinguish, detect

Examples from the Web for snuff

Contemporary Examples of snuff

He could imagine himself an Islamist avenger like that masked monster in black who appears in the ISIS snuff videos.
The Muslim Convert Behind America’s First Workplace Beheading
Michael Daly
September 27, 2014
He packed a large pinch of the snuff against his bottom gum.
Short Stories from The Daily Beast: Four Hundred Grand
Elliot Ackerman
July 6, 2014
Even as Valle sat in court this week, the 364 various groups on DFN included one called Cannibalism, Snuff with 835 members.
Cannibal Cop’s Dark Fetishes Detailed in Grisly Trial Testimony
Michael Daly
February 27, 2013
Look in my face while I snuff the sidle of evening, Talk honestly, for no one else hears you, and I stay only a minute longer.
A Eulogy for Marie Colvin
Katrina Heron
March 14, 2012
Pelosi and Reid will work to snuff out any legislation that could force Obama to take unpopular stands.
Freshmen Hit the Hill
Samuel P. Jacobs
January 4, 2011

Historical Examples of snuff

When he had said it, he took a culminating pinch of snuff, and put his box in his pocket.
A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
The head of the animal was tossed; then it seemed to snuff the air, and it gave a shriek.
Homeward Bound
James Fenimore Cooper
She has left off chewing and smoking, having found a refuge in snuff.
Graham's Magazine Vol XXXII. No. 3. March 1848
Various
I must have a care I don't get some of that snuff out of his nose.
The Politician Out-Witted
Samuel Low
Against the regulations of the College, he used to bring in snuff to the other scholars.
A Zola Dictionary
J. G. Patterson

British Dictionary definitions for snuff

snuff

verb

(tr) to inhale through the nose

(when intr, often foll by at) (esp of an animal) to examine by sniffing

noun

an act or the sound of snuffing

Derived Formssnuffer, noun

Word Origin for snuff

C16: probably from Middle Dutch snuffen to snuffle, ultimately of imitative origin

snuff

noun

finely powdered tobacco for sniffing up the nostrils or less commonly for chewing

a small amount of this

any powdered substance, esp one for sniffing up the nostrils

up to snuff informal

in good health or in good condition
mainly Britishnot easily deceived

verb

(intr) to use or inhale snuff

Word Origin for snuff

C17: from Dutch snuf, shortened from snuftabale, literally: tobacco for snuffing; see snuff 1

snuff

verb (tr)

(often foll by out) to extinguish (a light from a naked flame, esp a candle)

to cut off the charred part of (the wick of a candle, etc)

(usually foll by out) informal to suppress; put an end to

snuff it British informal to die

noun

the burned portion of the wick of a candle

Word Origin for snuff

C14 snoffe, of obscure origin

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 snuff

v.1

"to cut or pinch off the burned part of a candle wick," mid-15c., from noun snoffe "burned part of a candle wick" (late 14c.), of unknown origin, perhaps related to snuff (v.2). The meaning "to die" is from 1865; that of "to kill" is from 1932; snuff-film, originally an urban legend, is from 1975.

v.2

"draw in through the nose," 1520s, from Dutch or Flemish snuffen "to sniff, snuff," related to Dutch snuiven "to sniff," from Proto-Germanic *snuf- (cf. Middle High German snupfe, German Schnupfen "head-cold"), imitative of the sound of drawing air through the nose (see snout). Related: Snuffed; snuffing.

"powdered tobacco to be inhaled," 1680s, from Dutch or Flemish snuf, shortened form of snuftabak "snuff tobacco," from snuffen "to sniff, snuff" (see snuff (v.2)). The practice became fashionable in England c.1680. Slang phrase up to snuff "knowing, sharp, wide-awake, not likely to be deceived" is from 1811; the exact sense is obscure unless it refers to the "elevating" properties of snuff.

snuff in Medicine

snuff

[snŭf]

v.

To inhale something audibly through the nose; sniff.

n.

A preparation of finely pulverized tobacco that can be drawn up into the nostrils by inhaling.

A medicated powder inhaled through or blown into the nose.

Idioms and Phrases with snuff

snuff

In addition to the idiom beginning with snuff

snuff out

also see:

up to par (snuff)