What does Sniff mean?

Definitions for Sniff
snɪfsniff

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Sniff.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. sniff, snuffverb

    sensing an odor by inhaling through the nose

  2. sniff, whiffverb

    perceive by inhaling through the nose

    "sniff the perfume"

  3. sniff, sniffleverb

    inhale audibly through the nose

    "the sick student was sniffling in the back row"

Wiktionary

  1. sniffnoun

    An instance of sniffing.

    She gave the flowes a quick sniff to check they were real.

  2. sniffnoun

    A quantity of something that is inhaled through the nose

  3. sniffnoun

    A brief perception

  4. sniffverb

    To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as if to smell something.

  5. sniffverb

    To say something while sniffing, for example in case of illness or unhappiness

    "He's never coming back, is he?", she sniffed while looking at a picture of him.

  6. sniffverb

    To perceive vaguely

    I can sniff trouble coming from the basement.

  7. sniffverb

    To be dismissive or contemptuous of something.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. To Sniffverb

    To draw breath audibly up the nose.

    Etymology: sniffa, Swedish.

    So then you look’d scornful, and snift at the dean,
    As, who should say, now am I skinny and lean? Jonathan Swift.

ChatGPT

  1. sniff

    Sniff is the act of inhaling air sharply through the nose to detect a smell, or due to a cold or in sadness. It can also refer to the act of perceiving or detecting something.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Sniffverb

    to draw air audibly up the nose; to snuff; -- sometimes done as a gesture of suspicion, offense, or contempt

  2. Sniffverb

    to draw in with the breath through the nose; as, to sniff the air of the country

  3. Sniffverb

    to perceive as by sniffing; to snuff, to scent; to smell; as, to sniff danger

  4. Sniffnoun

    the act of sniffing; perception by sniffing; that which is taken by sniffing; as, a sniff of air

  5. Etymology: [OE. sneven; akin to snivel, snuff; cf. Dan. snive to sniff. See Snuff, v. t.]

Wikidata

  1. Sniff

    Sniff is a character in the Moomin series of books by Finnish author Tove Jansson. Sniff is Moomintroll's immature friend and later adopted brother. He is the son of the Muddler and the Fuzzy. He is one of the few characters in the Moomin series who is sincerely interested in money, and is always on the lookout for another way to get rich quick. This trait in him is often played as a contrast to Snufkin, who doesn't care much about worldly belongings, and their two different philosophies sometimes clash—although Snufkin is generally portrayed as the wiser of the two. Particularly in the earlier books, Sniff seems to be younger than the other major characters, and many of his negative qualities can be said to be those of a thoughtless child; he is selfish, greedy and quick to push all responsibility over on other people, but he is not malicious or mean-spirited. He's also easily frightened or upset, and not very fond of taking risks, although he will often overcome his fears if there's a chance of treasure or wealth. Sniff is one of the first characters introduced in the series; in fact, he is the first person Moomintroll and Moominmamma encounter on their journey in The Moomins and the Great Flood, although he has not yet been given an actual name and is referred throughout the story simply as "the small creature."

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Sniff

    snif, v.t. to draw in with the breath through the nose.—v.i. to snuff or draw in air sharply through the nose: to snuff.—n. perception of smell: a short sharp inhalation, or the sound made by such.—v.i. Snif′fle, to snuffle.—n. Snif′fler, a slight breeze.—adj. Snif′fy, inclined to be disdainful.—vs.i. Snift, to sniff, snivel; Snift′er, to sniff.—n. a sniff: (pl.) stoppage of the nasal passages in catarrh: (slang) a dram: (U.S.) a severe storm.—n. Snift′ing-valve, an air-valve connecting with a steam-cylinder, as in a condensing engine—also Tail-valve, Blow-valve.—adj. Snift′y (slang), having a tempting smell. [Scand.; Dan. snive, snuff; Ger. schnieben.]

The New Hacker's Dictionary

  1. sniff

    1. To watch packets traversing a network. Most often in the phrase packet sniffer, a program for doing same. 2. Synonym for poll.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. SNIFF

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Sniff is ranked #62714 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Sniff surname appeared 319 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Sniff.

    97.8% or 312 total occurrences were White.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Verbs Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'Sniff' in Verbs Frequency: #1054

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

How to pronounce Sniff?

How to say Sniff in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of Sniff in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of Sniff in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of Sniff in a Sentence

  1. Robert Selhorst:

    One of my dogs went under the fence to sniff his dogs, my dog’s tail was wagging. He was just sniffing his dog and the guy, like night and day, flipped out.

  2. Mary McCarthy:

    Anti-Semitism is a horrible disease from which nobody is immune, and it has a kind of evil fascination that makes an enlightened person draw near the source of infection, supposedly in a scientific spirit, but really to sniff the vapors and dally with the possibility.

  3. Caleb Lopes:

    I think East Fairhaven Elementary's pretty neat if they can sniff something that could possibly be putting our kids in harm's way or make them ill, i want them to be safe, just like any other parent wants them to be safe.

  4. Brian Johns:

    Dayton Police Department policy requires the occupants of the vehicle to exit for their own safety and safety of the K-9 officer to perform this free-air sniff.

  5. Kazushige Touhara:

    Although there are many circumstances in which humans utilize olfactory cues for communication, there is no authentic pheromone that has been chemically identified, i believe there is no classic sex pheromone in humans that elicits attractive behavior to the opposite sex. But there are probably crucial odors that affect each other's emotions - for example, a baby's head smell that parents sniff and feel happy, and a woman's axillary (underarm) odors that affect the emotions of males.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

Sniff#10000#25693#100000

Translations for Sniff

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

  • شمArabic
  • schnüffelnGerman
  • olfatearSpanish
  • nyrpistellä, nuuhkaista, nuuhkausFinnish
  • reniflerFrench
  • fanyalog, szippantás, szippant, szimatol, fintorogHungarian
  • whakamonoMāori
  • pociągać nosem, niuchać, węszyćPolish
  • sinq'ayQuechua
  • сопение, фыркнуть, фыркать, принюхаться, шмыгнуть, шмыгать, принюхиваться, шмыганиеRussian

Get even more translations for Sniff »

Translation

Find a translation for the Sniff definition in other languages:

Select another language:

  • - Select -
  • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
  • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
  • Español (Spanish)
  • Esperanto (Esperanto)
  • 日本語 (Japanese)
  • Português (Portuguese)
  • Deutsch (German)
  • العربية (Arabic)
  • Français (French)
  • Русский (Russian)
  • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
  • 한국어 (Korean)
  • עברית (Hebrew)
  • Gaeilge (Irish)
  • Українська (Ukrainian)
  • اردو (Urdu)
  • Magyar (Hungarian)
  • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
  • Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Italiano (Italian)
  • தமிழ் (Tamil)
  • Türkçe (Turkish)
  • తెలుగు (Telugu)
  • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
  • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
  • Čeština (Czech)
  • Polski (Polish)
  • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
  • Românește (Romanian)
  • Nederlands (Dutch)
  • Ελληνικά (Greek)
  • Latinum (Latin)
  • Svenska (Swedish)
  • Dansk (Danish)
  • Suomi (Finnish)
  • فارسی (Persian)
  • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
  • հայերեն (Armenian)
  • Norsk (Norwegian)
  • English (English)

Word of the Day

Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?

Please enter your email address:


Citation

Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:

Style:MLAChicagoAPA

"Sniff." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 24 Nov. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/Sniff>.

Discuss these Sniff definitions with the community:

0 Comments

    Are we missing a good definition for Sniff? Don't keep it to yourself...

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Chrome

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Free, no signup required:

    Add to Firefox

    Get instant definitions for any word that hits you anywhere on the web!

    Quiz

    Are you a words master?

    »
    remove completely from recognition or memory
    A efface
    B elaborate
    C transpire
    D summon

    Nearby & related entries:

    Alternative searches for Sniff: