/snɪf/, /snəf/
OriginFrom Middle English sniffen, of imitative origin.
- ambitransitiveTo make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as when smelling something.
“The dog sniffed around the park, searching for a nice scent.”
“I sniffed the meat to see whether it had gone off.”
“Carrot ran past him to get to the barrel first, and peered down at the cowering Catweazle. “No rats, Dad,” he said. “What's that terrible pong, then?” said Mr Bennett, sniffing.”
- transitiveTo 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.”
- transitiveTo perceive vaguely.
“I don't know, of course, what your precious Radicals are planning to do, and I don't want to know; but I can sniff trouble in the air, nevertheless.”
- intransitiveTo pry; to investigate in an interfering manner.
“COOMBE: He got the clinch only last week — eighteen months. You see it's no good having anybody here as ain't got a^([sic]) unblemished character. We don't want to have the bluebottles come sniffing r”
- To be dismissive or contemptuous of something; used with at.
“This opportunity is not to be sniffed at.”
- To intercept and analyse packets of data being transmitted over a network.
- UK, slangTo inhale drugs (usually cocaine) through the nose, usually in powder form.
“Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue.”
- countableAn instance of sniffing.
“She gave the flowers a quick sniff to check they were real.”
- countableA quantity of something that is inhaled through the nose.
- colloquial, countableA brief perception, or tiny amount.
“Tottenham did have a sniff of goal when Defoe's drilled cross just eluded his strike partner at the far post but their best effort came early in the second half when Ryan Fredericks cut in from the ri”
“Telecoms firms want a sniff, having invested heavily in ultra-fast, low-latency 5G spectrum.”
- slang, uncountableCocaine.
“He sold us some sniff and blow.”
- countable, slangA toddler or young child.
- A short inhalation sound, sometimes associated with crying.
“a wild boar is laughing and Obelix is crying
Wild boar classified a protected species
First reaction from dismayed costumers:
“Boohoohoo! Sniff!””
Formssniffs(present, singular, third-person) · sniffing(participle, present) · sniffed(participle, past) · sniffed(past) · sniffs(plural)