sniff.
To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as when smelling something; to smell (something).
Meaning & usage
To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as when smelling something; to smell (something).
The dog sniffed around the park, searching for a nice scent.
I sniffed the meat to see whether it had gone off.
To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as when smelling something; to smell (something). To say (something) while sniffing, such as in case of illness or unhappiness, or in contempt.
"He's never coming back, is he?" she sniffed while looking at a picture of him.
To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as when smelling something; to smell (something). To inhale drugs (usually cocaine) through the nose, usually in powder form.
To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as when smelling something; to smell (something). To be dismissive or contemptuous of something; used with at.
This opportunity is not to be sniffed at.
To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as when smelling something; to smell (something). To perceive vaguely.
To pry; to investigate in an interfering manner.
To pry; to investigate in an interfering manner. To intercept and analyse packets of data being transmitted over a network.
packet sniffer
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sniffen, of imitative origin.
An instance of sniffing.
She gave the flowers a quick sniff to check they were real.
A quantity of something that is inhaled through the nose.
A brief perception, or tiny amount.
Cocaine.
A toddler or young child.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sniffen, of imitative origin.
A short inhalation sound, sometimes associated with crying.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English sniffen, of imitative origin.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.