sniff at

phrasal verb

sniffed at; sniffing at; sniffs at

: to show dislike or disapproval of (something) especially because one thinks it is not important or worthy of respect

Some people sniff at the idea of using fake flowers.

It's not a big profit, but it's not to be sniffed at.

Your accomplishment is nothing to sniff at.

Examples of sniff at in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And bank savings accounts are not to be sniffed at: Like CDs, they are insured up to $250,000 per institution per depositor, and the best are paying about 5%. —

Steve Garmhausen, wsj.com, 13 Oct. 2023 The animal also walks towards the camera and sniffs at the ground before calmly turning away. —

Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 12 Oct. 2023 That’s nothing to sniff at, but that also means a good chunk of top titles will be excluded. —

Ariel Shapiro, The Verge, 3 Oct. 2023 The photo showed a furry, squat creature on four legs, sniffing at the ground. —

Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 18 Aug. 2023 Proponents say that sniffing at least four core scents - fruity, flowery, spicy and resinous - can help restore the neural connections between the nose and brain. —

Aara'l Yarber, Anchorage Daily News, 3 Aug. 2023 The latest shots, in two video snippets, show the ocelots walking past and sniffing at the area around a tree where a bear had come to rub its back. —

Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 25 July 2023 More than a decade after the last sniff at the College World Series and with each of the last three head coaching firings getting progressively messier, Omaha never felt further from Tuscaloosa. —

Michael Casagrande | McAsagrande@al.com, al, 4 May 2023 See More

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