snuffle
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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an act or sound of breathing loudly through the nose.
-
(the) snuffles, a condition of the nose, such as from a cold, causing a person to breath or draw mucus through the nostrils noisily.
-
a nasal tone of voice.
verb
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(intr) to breathe noisily or with difficulty
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to say or speak in a nasal tone
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(intr) to snivel
noun
-
an act or the sound of snuffling
-
a nasal tone or voice
-
a condition characterized by snuffling
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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snufflesimple
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snufflessimple
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have snuffledperfect
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has snuffledperfect
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am snufflingprogressive
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are snufflingprogressive
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is snufflingprogressive
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have been snufflingperfect progressive
-
has been snufflingperfect progressive
Past
-
snuffledsimple
-
had snuffledperfect
-
was snufflingprogressive
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were snufflingprogressive
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had been snufflingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of snuffle
First recorded in 1575–85, for an earlier sense; 1595–1605, for the current sense; from Dutch snuffelen “to nose (in something),” literally, “to sniff repeatedly,” from snuffen “to sniff,” with -el-, frequentative infix; equivalent to snuff 1 ( def. ) + -le
Explanation
When you snuffle you breathe in a sniffly, stuffed-up way through your nose. People are most likely to snuffle when they're crying or have a bad cold. For some people, spring means warmer weather and pretty flowers, but for others it means their allergies make them snuffle and sneeze continuously. When you see a sad movie in a theater, you'll probably hear people snuffle all around you — and if you visit the zoo or a farm, you can watch animals snuffle, or sniff at things. The Old English version of snuffle is snofl, "phlegm or mucus."
Vocabulary lists containing snuffle
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:
Other days, the project manager will play with her pup at home or throw a few treats in a snuffle mat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2025
They invited a winsome six-month-old piglet named Wilma to snuffle around in the mini-meadow, which she did with tremendous focus and energy, transfixing her audience.
From New York Times ● Sep. 23, 2022
And deer release their feces as they feed, creating conditions where other deer might forage in areas contaminated with waste, or snuffle around waste that has feed mixed in, experts say.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 7, 2022
Wild boar snuffle through rusted playgrounds, and kindergarten napping areas are scattered with wide-eyed, broken dolls, thick with radioactive dust.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2014
I glanced at Oso, who side-eyed me suspiciously from his dog bed and then put his head back down with a snuffle.
From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon
Hedgehogs may be communicating with more than just snuffles, grunts and snorts, according to scientists who have discovered the animal's hearing range.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2026
“The idea that having the snuffles a while back somehow protects you from SARS-CoV-2 infection has always left me cold, but it’s been a persistent urban legend throughout the pandemic,” he said.
From New York Times ● Feb. 10, 2021
The sound design also helps bring the series’ creatures to life, though roars, grunts, snuffles, and subtler noises like heavy footsteps, or the rustling of raptors rushing through a field of wheat.
From The Verge ● Oct. 7, 2019
Although he seldom cries, he “grunts and snuffles and roars.”
From The New Yorker ● May 11, 2019
“That’s the music I heard last night,” she managed between recovering snuffles.
From "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit
At night, wild boars snuffled outside the tents, searching for food scraps.
From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2020
When the film mercifully finished, I crawled into bed and stared wide-eyed at my door for most of the night while my friend snuffled peacefully, completely oblivious to my terror.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 22, 2014
He left tracks larger than coffee cans, and snuffled through our dreams all night.
From New York Times ● May 16, 2013
He knelt down to pick up two hairless, puppies, which snuffled at his hands.
From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2010
The calf snorted and snuffled, trying to open its eyes.
From "I'm the King of the Castle" by Susan Hill
Kaunda, though, appeared unfazed by the unexpected intrusion of his personal space and continued to deliver his on-camera report, only finally bursting into laughter when the elephant’s leathery appendage started snuffling his face.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2022
Christine Burlison thought her newborn baby Aria had nothing more than a cold when she started sneezing and snuffling not long after coming home.
From BBC ● Nov. 9, 2022
I’m far removed from Pleistocene Siberia, but I thought I wasn’t a dog person until I was introduced to a snuffling puppy who needed some food and a warm place to sleep.
From Slate ● Feb. 17, 2021
The hot snuffling of the Dobermans closing in fast.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 9, 2020
He made snuffling noises like a pig and hated himself for doing it, but he couldn’t stop.
From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer
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.
