waft

American  

[waft, wahft] / wæft, wɑft /

verb (used with object)

• wafts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wafted,
  past participle,  past
• wafting
  present participle

1. to carry lightly and smoothly through the air or over water.

   The gentle breeze wafted the sound of music to our ears.

2. to send or convey lightly, as if in flight.

   The actress wafted kisses to her admirers in the audience.

3. Obsolete. to signal to, summon, or direct by waving.

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verb (used without object)

• wafts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• wafted,
  past participle,  past
• wafting
  present participle

1. to float or be carried, especially through the air.

   The sound wafted on the breeze. The music wafted across the lake.

noun

• wafts
  plural

1. a sound, odor, etc., faintly perceived.

   a waft of perfume.

2. a wafting movement; light current or gust.

   a waft of air.

3. the act of wafting.

4. Nautical. Also a signal given by waving a flag.

waft British  

/ wɒft, wɑːft /

verb

1. to carry or be carried gently on or as if on the air or water

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noun

1. the act or an instance of wafting

2. something, such as a scent, carried on the air

3. a wafting motion

4. Also called: waif.  nautical (formerly) a signal flag hoisted furled to signify various messages depending on where it was flown

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• waftage
  noun
• wafter
  noun
• unwafted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wafts
  plural

Participles

• wafting
  present
• wafted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• waft
  simple
• wafts
  simple
• have wafted
  perfect
• has wafted
  perfect
• am wafting
  progressive
• are wafting
  progressive
• is wafting
  progressive
• have been wafting
  perfect progressive
• has been wafting
  perfect progressive

Past

• wafted
  simple
• had wafted
  perfect
• was wafting
  progressive
• were wafting
  progressive
• had been wafting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will waft
  simple
• will have wafted
  perfect
• will be wafting
  progressive
• will have been wafting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of waft

1535–45; back formation from late Middle English waughter armed escort vessel < Dutch or Low German wachter watchman; in some senses confused with waff

Explanation

When your grandmother cooks her famous spaghetti sauce, many wonderful smells may waft from the kitchen. In other words, the air will gently carry this familiar aroma throughout the house. Though the verb waft usually involves movement through air, it has watery roots. A "wafter" was a convoy ship in the 16th century, and these words may have derived from the similar looking wave. Waft can refer to scents, sounds, and even smoke. So, if your grandmother’s sauce begins to burn, smoke could waft from the kitchen as well.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

waft wafts wafted wafting

There are flies, rats and, if the wind shifts every so slightly, a waft of thick, nauseating air from the warehouse.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

It also isn’t uncommon for wildfire smoke from the U.S. to waft into Canada.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

I inhale, letting new smells — something minty and palo santo-y, maybe? — waft over me.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026

It was malleable and oblong, perfectly complemented by a waft of boy-next-door blond locks and a brow that could convey emotion just as well as any histrionic soap dialogue.

From Salon ● Feb. 15, 2026

Maybe Trip would come through the sliding-glass door, a crisp waft of cool air following him into the kitchen.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

The scent of Mexican spiced coffee brewed in a clay pot wafts through the front room.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026

"Life is short as a drying drop of water. Don't be sad," a singer's voice wafts into the street.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

On summer nights the sound of laughter from pubs and bars wafts through his neighbourhood - but so does the stench of rubbish.

From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025

In the opening credits of “Gladiator II,” an oil painting of Omorogbe’s unnamed fighter wafts across the screen, promising, perhaps, a new generation of gladiatrices.

From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2024

Jason holds up a bag of food, grinning at me as the smell of fries from my favorite diner a block away from our school wafts down the hallway, trying to reel me in.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

Bouchier wafted unnecessarily outside the off stump, Heather Knight played around a straight one from Sayali Satghare for six and Jones suffered a lapse in concentration to prod spinner Sneh Rana to short leg.

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Walter Heckem, 63, moved into the residence a few years ago and says the free dinners, especially pasta and beef dishes, remind him of the smells that wafted through his childhood home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

Tse Yuk-wa, who lived on the third floor near where the fire is believed to have started, said smoke wafted into her kitchen but she initially assumed it was dust from the construction.

From Barron's ● Mar. 24, 2026

On Thursday morning, over 100 artists, gallerists and collectors representing 24 countries wafted into the maze that is Frieze at the Santa Monica Airport and transformed the space into a winding runway.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026

The fragrance of cooking rice wafted down the hospital hall.

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

Growing up in southwest France, where her father made wine and her mother operated a bed-and-breakfast, Ms. de Ferrier enjoyed how the fragrance of the château’s garden swirled with the scents wafting from the kitchen.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

Taken along with the overall stink that still hangs on the Globes, which joins the general toxicity wafting in the air a mere 11 days into 2026, however, it’s all pretty deflating.

From Salon ● Jan. 12, 2026

The acrid smoke wafting from burning waste in her neighbourhood in Nigeria's biggest city, Lagos, made it hard to breathe.

From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2025

Jacob Bethell edged to slip, Will Jacks chipped back and even Jos Buttler was subdued before wafting with his hands away from his body.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2025

The air was filled with the smells of winter, and car exhaust, and the familiar sausage-y-maple syrupy wafting from the Burger King across the street.

From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu

Related Words

• drift
• float