whiff

1 of 2

noun

1
a
: a quick puff or slight gust especially of air, odor, gas, smoke, or spray
b
: an inhalation of odor, gas, or smoke
c
: a slight puffing or whistling sound
2
: a slight trace or indication
a whiff of scandal
3

whiff

2 of 2

verb

whiffed; whiffing; whiffs

intransitive verb

1
: to move with or as if with a puff of air
2
: to emit whiffs : puff
3
: to inhale an odor
4

transitive verb

1
a
: to carry or convey by or as if by a whiff : blow
b
: to expel or puff out in a whiff : exhale
2
: fan sense 8
whiffed three batters

Examples of whiff in a Sentence

Noun I got a whiff of new paint when I entered the room. I detected a whiff of sarcasm in her voice. The pitcher had eight whiffs during the game. Verb He whiffed a strong odor of perfume. The golfer nearly whiffed the shot. The golfer nearly whiffed on the shot.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Her policies often carry a whiff of the ridiculous but are typically based on solid research and are highly effective on social media. Elisabeth Zerofsky, New York Times, 6 Mar. 2024 His pitch-specific whiff rate of 8.4% trailed only Wheeler among qualifiers. Tony Blengino, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 Beyond the fastball, all three of Cabrera’s secondary pitches induced whiff rates of at least 30 percent last season: His curveball (38 percent), changeup (36.3 percent) and slider (30.6 percent). Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 28 Feb. 2024 After the host unscrewed the cap, Elordi picked up the candle and gave it a whiff — and even pretended to give it a good slurp, mimicking Keoghan's character in the film. Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 19 Jan. 2024 The latter two both finished in the Top 10 among qualifiers in whiff rate, Ryan 3rd at 15.5% and Ober 8th at 13.7%. Tony Blengino, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2024 Nor is there even the faintest whiff of gay panic when an out-of-the-blue disclosure causes the supervisor to look at his friend and colleague in a different light. David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 19 Feb. 2024 The whiffs of negativity in the US, European, and Chinese electric vehicle markets share at least one root cause: high interest rates, which make the prospect of a big purchase like a car less attractive in the weeks and months ahead. Aarian Marshall, WIRED, 15 Feb. 2024 Everyone got soaked while in line for the premiere event, and, inevitably, the venue acquired a whiff of wet dog. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 9 Feb. 2024
Verb
The Munch whiffed on food safety and cleanliness when Florida Department of Agriculture inspector James Zheng and trainee Julio Azpurua dropped by Tuesday. David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024 Reese, a junior power forward, whiffed on two free throws with 38 seconds left in the first overtime. Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2024 Off the ensuing face-off, Girard launched a shot from just across the mid-ice stripe and Kochetkov whiffed on gloving the puck. Bob Sutton, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2024 Strikeouts, 175 of them, have been a problem, though Judge has whiffed at a much higher rate for years. Chuck Murr, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024 The Aztecs have done the first two things but whiffed on their first two road encounters against the Mountain West’s top tier, getting drilled at New Mexico and fading down the stretch at Boise State. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Jan. 2024 The Oscars had all but whiffed on the biggest movie of the year. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2024 Also, both of the pollsters cited above have whiffed in past races. Philip Klein, National Review, 10 Jan. 2024 The team and general manager Joe Douglas also whiffed on a few free-agent signings, including running back Dalvin Cook and wide receivers Mecole Hardman and Allen Lazard. Antwan Staley, Hartford Courant, 8 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whiff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

imitative

First Known Use

Noun

1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1591, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of whiff was in 1591

Dictionary Entries Near whiff

Cite this Entry

“Whiff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whiff. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

whiff

1 of 2 noun
ˈhwif How to pronounce whiff (audio)
ˈwif
1
: a quick puff or slight gust
a whiff of air
2
: a small quantity of odor, gas, or smoke that is breathed in

whiff

2 of 2 verb
1
: to blow out or away in small amounts
2
: to breathe in an odor

More from Merriam-Webster on whiff

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