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View synonyms for waft

waft

[ waft, wahft ]

verb (used with object)

  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.


verb (used without object)

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

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

noun

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

waft

/ wɒft; wɑːft /

verb

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


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 calledwaif nautical (formerly) a signal flag hoisted furled to signify various messages depending on where it was flown
“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
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Derived Forms

  • ˈwaftage, noun
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Other Words From

  • wafter noun
  • un·wafted adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of waft1

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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Word History and Origins

Origin of waft1

C16 (in obsolete sense: to convey by ship): back formation from C15 wafter a convoy vessel, from Middle Dutch wachter guard, from wachten to guard; influenced by waff
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Example Sentences

In dark pockets of the universe, molecular clouds full of tiny dust particles host a veritable smorgasbord of odors, from wafts of sweet sugar to the rotten-egg stench of sulfur.

He caught a waft of methane and spotted a pile of corroded metal surrounding a hole that had once been an active well.

“At least it keeps the mosquitoes away,” one of my table-mates said, as we watched the swooshes of smoke waft into the Havana sky.

The smells waft through the shantytown of tents and tires known as the Maidan, the main square in Kiev.

The film is an amiable but formless waft through a 1950s British film set.

Bewitching scents waft from a stone vessel holding multicolored powders, herbs and seeds.

It needed only an exertion of will for the soul to hurl the body ashore as wind drives paper; to waft it kite-fashion to the bank.

It sufficed, however, to waft them into a little cove making into one of these islands at about two hours before noon.

She had a vague feeling that the boat should have been ready to waft them miraculously over star-lit seas.

A puff of wind brought them a waft of fainter odour from the wild violets which carpeted the woods.

But we link our wishes with whatsoever would gently waft us over.

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WAFSwaftage