wafted; wafting; wafts
: to move or go lightly on or as if on a buoyant medium
heavenly aromas wafted from the kitchen
: to cause to move or go lightly by or as if by the impulse of wind or waves
wafter
noun
Synonyms
Examples of waft in a Sentence
Verb
The smell of chicken soup wafted up to my bedroom.
The sound of music wafted softly into the yard from our neighbor's house.
A breeze wafted the scent of roses towards our table.
Noun
wafts carrying the scent of spring flowers
Recent Examples on the Web
Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 18 Apr. 2024
The sweet smell of cafe de olla — coffee with cinnamon and sugar — wafts through the tiny dining room and order counter.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Apr. 2024
Twenty minutes later, smoke wafted around a howitzer and 17 shells were gone — more than half the crew’s ammunition.
—Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The smell of mothballs wafts from the interior, the ghost of the paradichlorobenzene used decades ago to keep beetles and other pests away from the precious collection.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Her distinctly Californian voice wafts over a Bad Bunny-heavy playlist.
—Lina Abascal, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2024
Not far from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, dozens of members of Gaza's tiny Palestinian Christian community gathered at the Holy Family Church to celebrate Easter, with incense wafting through the rare building that appeared untouched by war.
—Melanie Lindman, Wafaa Shurafa, arkansasonline.com, 1 Apr. 2024
Not far from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, dozens of members of Gaza’s tiny Palestinian Christian community gathered at the Holy Family Church to celebrate Easter, with incense wafting through the rare building that appeared untouched by war.
—Melanie Lindman, Wafaa Shurafa, and Samy Magdy, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Apr. 2024
Even though the resulting odor frequently wafts over the neighborhood, that hasn’t stopped the recent skyrocketing of home sale prices and rents, or the arrival of high-end ice-cream shops, supermarkets, and restaurants.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2024
With an approximate burn time of 85 hours, the iconic scents of citrus and fruit waft gently throughout the air.
—Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 19 Feb. 2024
On our visit, the house cocktail (rum and vanilla with orange, lime and passion fruit juices) was interrupted by wafts of frankincense and clamor on the street below, where 100 men in black were carrying a Virgen through the night, the gilded figure flickering in the candlelight.
—Lisa Johnson, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Nov. 2023
As for the nose, and the three minutes allotted to appreciating its complexity, the 29-Year-Old hints at Muscovado sugar, cocoa, and a touch of bitter orange marmalade, with wafts of Christmas spice, maraschino cherries, and delicate citrus fruits.
—Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 22 Dec. 2023
Wandering this densely packed labyrinth, you’ll be hit with a new smell every few feet: wafts of aromatic couscous, fresh flowers, and smoked ham are what make this bustling market such a joy on every visit.
—Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 31 Dec. 2023
The sweet smell of waffles and chocolate wafts out of confection shops.
—Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 14 Nov. 2023
Fallon recalls past interactive, multi-dimensional inventions, featuring ingenious elements like wafts of potpourri-scents and an iPad centerpiece framing a roaring fireplace video-loop.
—Fawnia Soo Hoo, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2023
But Pelosi, who grew up listening to opera waft through the streets of Baltimore’s Little Italy, is a genuine tie-dyed in the wool Deadhead, as cultists and aficionados of the group are known.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2023
Verb
Named for night-blooming jasmine, the song wafts like that flower’s scent, and Thompson captures that melancholy sweetness in the black-and-white video, which features two women who could be falling in love — or starring in a Lynchian perfume commercial.
—Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 18 Apr. 2024
The sweet smell of cafe de olla — coffee with cinnamon and sugar — wafts through the tiny dining room and order counter.
—Bud Kennedy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 15 Apr. 2024
Twenty minutes later, smoke wafted around a howitzer and 17 shells were gone — more than half the crew’s ammunition.
—Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The smell of mothballs wafts from the interior, the ghost of the paradichlorobenzene used decades ago to keep beetles and other pests away from the precious collection.
—Nathaniel Scharping, Discover Magazine, 4 Apr. 2024
Her distinctly Californian voice wafts over a Bad Bunny-heavy playlist.
—Lina Abascal, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2024
Not far from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, dozens of members of Gaza's tiny Palestinian Christian community gathered at the Holy Family Church to celebrate Easter, with incense wafting through the rare building that appeared untouched by war.
—Melanie Lindman, Wafaa Shurafa, arkansasonline.com, 1 Apr. 2024
Not far from Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, dozens of members of Gaza’s tiny Palestinian Christian community gathered at the Holy Family Church to celebrate Easter, with incense wafting through the rare building that appeared untouched by war.
—Melanie Lindman, Wafaa Shurafa, and Samy Magdy, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Apr. 2024
Even though the resulting odor frequently wafts over the neighborhood, that hasn’t stopped the recent skyrocketing of home sale prices and rents, or the arrival of high-end ice-cream shops, supermarkets, and restaurants.
—Eric Lach, The New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2024
Noun
Even the very air of the restaurant seems to have a lushness to it, though that might just be wafts of browning butter from a nearby tableside steak flambé.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 25 Feb. 2024
With an approximate burn time of 85 hours, the iconic scents of citrus and fruit waft gently throughout the air.
—Rebecca Jones, Southern Living, 19 Feb. 2024
On our visit, the house cocktail (rum and vanilla with orange, lime and passion fruit juices) was interrupted by wafts of frankincense and clamor on the street below, where 100 men in black were carrying a Virgen through the night, the gilded figure flickering in the candlelight.
—Lisa Johnson, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Nov. 2023
As for the nose, and the three minutes allotted to appreciating its complexity, the 29-Year-Old hints at Muscovado sugar, cocoa, and a touch of bitter orange marmalade, with wafts of Christmas spice, maraschino cherries, and delicate citrus fruits.
—Robb Report Studio, Robb Report, 22 Dec. 2023
Wandering this densely packed labyrinth, you’ll be hit with a new smell every few feet: wafts of aromatic couscous, fresh flowers, and smoked ham are what make this bustling market such a joy on every visit.
—Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 31 Dec. 2023
The sweet smell of waffles and chocolate wafts out of confection shops.
—Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 14 Nov. 2023
Fallon recalls past interactive, multi-dimensional inventions, featuring ingenious elements like wafts of potpourri-scents and an iPad centerpiece framing a roaring fireplace video-loop.
—Fawnia Soo Hoo, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 Dec. 2023
But Pelosi, who grew up listening to opera waft through the streets of Baltimore’s Little Italy, is a genuine tie-dyed in the wool Deadhead, as cultists and aficionados of the group are known.
—Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'waft.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near waft
Cite this Entry
“Waft.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/waft. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
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