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

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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

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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

The orangutan clings to the top of a mostly leafless tree in Indonesia's Borneo, as waves of thick smoke from the forest fires burning below waft over her.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 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

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

“If I get low enough, there will be a waft of methane,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2025

Maybe they’d all waft up to heaven together, to a special wing reserved for the Alacrans.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer

Thursday will bring unusually high temperatures as warm air wafts across the south of the UK, while colder conditions dig into northern areas.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

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

A grin plays across his face as the unmistakable jangle of Tim McGraw’s “I Like It, I Love It” wafts through the room.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025

His scent, sharp and smoky, wafts over me.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

The poor smelled poor, the sick smelled sick and the wealthy wafted through the world in a cloud of expensive perfume.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

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

The smells that have wafted through the neighborhood since June 17 — fire smoke and rotting meat — were much lighter than previous days.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 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

Most nights the delicious smells of Mrs. Grasso’s cooking wafted under their door.

From "I Survived the Great Molasses Flood, 1919" by Lauren Tarshis

From wafting tar pits and smells of the beach to native plants and a chocolate factory, our readers smelled Los Angeles and told us about it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

In Taiwan, temples are everywhere, wedged between shops and apartment blocks, their incense smoke wafting into busy intersections.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

In protest, Cocker jumped on stage, wiggled his bottom at the cameras, made a strange wafting gesture with his hands and made a hasty exit, pursued by Jackson's security team.

From BBC ● Jan. 21, 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

Lunch was yam porridge, the smell wafting around the house even before we went to the dining table.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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Related Words

• drift
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