whiff1
[hwif, wif]
- a slight gust or puff of wind, air, vapor, smoke, or the like: a whiff of fresh air.
- a slight trace of odor or smell: a whiff of onions.
- a single inhalation or exhalation of air, tobacco smoke, or the like.
- a trace or hint: a whiff of scandal.
- a slight outburst: a little whiff of temper.
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- to blow or come in whiffs or puffs, as wind or smoke.
- to inhale or exhale whiffs, as in smoking tobacco.
- Baseball Slang. (of a batter) to strike out by swinging at and missing the pitch charged as the third strike.
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- to blow or drive with a whiff or puff, as the wind does.
- to inhale or exhale (air, tobacco smoke, etc.) in whiffs.
- to smoke (a pipe, cigar, etc.).
- Baseball Slang. (of a pitcher) to cause (a batter) to whiff.
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Origin of whiff1
1585–95; aspirated variant of Middle English weffe whiff (of steam or vapor)
whiff2
[hwif, wif]
- any of several flatfishes having both eyes on the left side of the head, of the genus Citharichthys, as C. cornutus (horned whiff), inhabiting Atlantic waters from New England to Brazil.
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Compare left-eyed flounder.
Origin of whiff2
First recorded in 1705–15; origin uncertain
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for whiff
Contemporary Examples
There were stories of distant strife, in Bosnia, Rwanda, and Northern Ireland, and those stories had the whiff of a different era.
Nobody should waste their time penning letters that any pediatrician with a whiff of insight will ignore.
But alongside all the true-fandom, a whiff of regret lingers.
In 2010, she revived the war crimes tribunal: nearly four decades after the crimes, a whiff of justice.
And while worldly success sometimes has a whiff of demonic patronage, identification is dangerous.
Historical Examples
But he brought into the house with him a whiff of cheeriness and hope for which I could not but be grateful.
The Stark Munro LettersJ. Stark Munro
Jeff could almost feel the whiff and wind of the temperamental rush.
The PrisonerAlice Brown
Now, Peter came so fast that the air whistled about him, jumped—and whiff!
He had breathed a whiff of perfume of which he said nothing either—of some perfume he did not know.
Within the TidesJoseph Conrad
After a while a whiff of smoke drifted round to where he sat.
An Outcast of the IslandsJoseph Conrad
whiff1
- a passing odour
- a brief gentle gust of air
- a single inhalation or exhalation from the mouth or nose
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- to come, convey, or go in whiffs; puff or waft
- to take in or breathe out (tobacco smoke, air, etc)
- (tr) to sniff or smell
- (intr) British slang to have an unpleasant smell; stink
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Word Origin
C16: of imitative origin
whiff2
- mainly British a narrow clinker-built skiff having outriggers, for one oarsman
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Word Origin
C19: special use of whiff 1
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 whiff
n.
13c., weffe "foul scent or odor," of imitative origin. Modern form became popular late 16c. with tobacco smoking, probably influenced by whiffle "blow in gusts or puffs" (1560s). The verb in the baseball slang sense "to swing at a ball and miss" first recorded 1913.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper