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
whiffed; whiffing; whiffs
1
: to move with or as if with a puff of air
3
: to inhale an odor
1
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
Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Oct. 2025
Bieber’s slider spun off the outside corner for a total of 13 whiffs and called strikes.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2025
How is their scrap-heap surveying so much better than Colorado, which got value out of outfielder Mickey Moniak this season, but largely whiffed on all their other fliers?
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whiff
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Noun
Now, the host is taking a whiff of the feet of her cohosts, Ross Mathews and Sunny Anderson.
—Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 17 Oct. 2025
Bieber’s slider spun off the outside corner for a total of 13 whiffs and called strikes.
—Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025
Verb
Linebackers Mohamed Toure and Wesley Bissainthe whiffed on the initial tackle, and Bell went untouched the rest of the way to the end zone.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2025
How is their scrap-heap surveying so much better than Colorado, which got value out of outfielder Mickey Moniak this season, but largely whiffed on all their other fliers?
—Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whiff
Cite this Entry
“Whiff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whiff. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
whiff
1 of 2 noun
ˈhwif 
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 verb1
: to blow out or away in small amounts
2
: to breathe in an odor
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