whiff
1 Americannoun
-
a trace or hint.
a whiff of scandal.
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a slight trace of odor or smell.
a whiff of onions.
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a slight gust or puff of wind, air, vapor, smoke, or the like.
a whiff of fresh air.
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a single inhalation or exhalation of air, tobacco smoke, or the like.
I tried smoking once, but had a coughing fit after the first whiff and gave up.
-
a slight outburst.
a little whiff of temper.
verb (used without object)
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whiffs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
whiffed,
past participle, past
-
whiffing
present participle
-
to blow or come in light puffs, such as of wind or smoke.
A breeze whiffed through the clearing, cooling our faces.
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to inhale or exhale in light puffs, such as when smoking tobacco.
She was sitting on the porch, whiffing on a cigarette.
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to move swiftly through the air, creating a slight breeze or swishing sound.
The ball whiffed past my head and into the net.
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Baseball.
-
to swing without hitting the ball.
He’s whiffed at 30 percent of pitches this season.
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(of a batter) to strike out by swinging at and missing the pitch charged as the third strike.
-
-
Informal. to fail in an effort or get something wrong.
This economic think tank has whiffed on every prediction for the last decade.
verb (used with object)
-
whiffs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
whiffed,
past participle, past
-
whiffing
present participle
-
to blow or drive with light puffs, as the wind does.
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to inhale or exhale (air, tobacco smoke, etc.) in light puffs.
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to smoke (a pipe, cigar, etc.).
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Baseball. (of a pitcher) to cause (a batter) to swing at a pitch and miss or to strike out.
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Informal. to fail at or in; get wrong.
The book had a great beginning, but lost steam as it progressed, and totally whiffed the ending.
He’s whiffed every opportunity we gave him.
-
to catch a slight scent or hint of; sniff; smell.
I broke a small branch off the lilac bush and whiffed the blooms as I walked.
noun
noun
-
a passing odour
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a brief gentle gust of air
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a single inhalation or exhalation from the mouth or nose
verb
-
to come, convey, or go in whiffs; puff or waft
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to take in or breathe out (tobacco smoke, air, etc)
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(tr) to sniff or smell
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slang (intr) to have an unpleasant smell; stink
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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whiffsimple
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whiffssimple
-
have whiffedperfect
-
has whiffedperfect
-
am whiffingprogressive
-
are whiffingprogressive
-
is whiffingprogressive
-
have been whiffingperfect progressive
-
has been whiffingperfect progressive
Past
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whiffedsimple
-
had whiffedperfect
-
was whiffingprogressive
-
were whiffingprogressive
-
had been whiffingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whiff1
First recorded in 1600–10; origin uncertain; perhaps a variant of Middle English wef, wef(f)e “bad smell, stench”
Origin of whiff2
First recorded in 1705–15; origin uncertain
Explanation
A whiff can mean the hint of something you smell. When you drive past the sewage treatment plant and suddenly roll up your car windows, it's usually because you've gotten a whiff of the plant's special odor. Whiff can be used as either a noun or verb, and it implies a brief or small puff or sniff. A person can have "a whiff of the exotic," which means they are living like the rest of us, but there is a little something about them that seems foreign or different. Sometimes, of course, odors are so overpowering that a small sniff is all you need: "Take a whiff of this," your friend might say to you, holding out a carton of sour milk. In that case, one whiff will be more than enough.
Vocabulary lists containing whiff
The Nose Knows: Olfactory Vocabulary
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100 SAT words Beginning with W,X,Y, and Z
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Smell Words
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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:
“There’s nothing like attractive real yields and a whiff of slower growth to shift the narrative and spur a renewed bid into rates,” said Melson at Natixis.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
There is much work to do in defence, for sure, but they can do that work from a position of strength - with the whiff of an extra £40m in their nostrils.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
These shots of concentrated caffeine are meant to be sipped, not sniffed, but one whiff of a ragingly popular one—bouquet de Dubble Bubble and wet sneakers—was enough to put me off them forever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
If every Miyazaki movie has a whiff of biographical relevance, one might see “Kiki’s Delivery Service” as his statement of creative purpose and motivation.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
There was a whiff of horse, and something far more worrisome than that.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
The laughs keep coming, especially when a little bot in a soccer jersey whiffs a kick and splats on its back.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
Despite those whiffs of corruption, the deal could let the Department of Defense acquire shares in NABEP, the Wall Street Journal reports.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
In referencing punk culture, Gyllenhaal whiffs her mark, which is somehow even more punk.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
Snell racked up 19 whiffs on Saturday, tied for third-most by a Dodgers pitcher in a game this season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 2, 2025
After a few whiffs, Ralph stuck his head all the way out to see what was going on.
From "Ralph S. Mouse" by Beverly Cleary
What’s funny, especially in retrospect, is how widely these men whiffed the point.
From Salon ● Oct. 20, 2026
He whiffed and, as his belly careened iceward, made a desperate swat at the puck that lifted it over the glove of the Vegas goalie to give the Hurricanes a lead they’d never relinquish.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
In their mutual aim for a modern twist on a timeless classic, both the star-studded, multi-million dollar Apple TV+ movie and the low-budget indie comedy whiffed it entirely.
From Salon ● Dec. 24, 2025
Freddie Freeman whiffed on a curveball after him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2025
People were more often-he searched for a simile, found one in his work-torches, blazing away until they whiffed out.
From "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury
Speaking on behalf of the administration isn’t practicing law, so it’s unclear why whiffing the bar is germane, much less a firing offense.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
And he struck out whiffing on a slider in the opposite batter’s box.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
Ohtani fouled off the next two pitches before whiffing on a sinker to end the inning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
After whiffing on a check attempt on Sprong on Detroit’s goal, Entwistle tied it at 1 when he converted a nice setup by Reese Johnson at 3:29.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 25, 2024
They shut the door and talked quietly about the whiffing incident.
From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
