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
Literary Hub, 23 Dec. 2025
Rhamondre Stevenson had perhaps the most underrated performance of the night, setting up would-be tacklers to either step into blocks or whiff on their attempts to take him down.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
NBC news, 21 Dec. 2025
The Red Sox can't afford to whiff on Bregman, too.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for whiff
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Noun
Concerning the symbolic, there is often a whiff of mystery and obfuscation, of being vaguely jangly, a bit mystical and slightly magical.
—Literary Hub, 23 Dec. 2025
Rhamondre Stevenson had perhaps the most underrated performance of the night, setting up would-be tacklers to either step into blocks or whiff on their attempts to take him down.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Dec. 2025
Verb
This is still like the administration whiffing on the Epstein files.
—NBC news, 21 Dec. 2025
The Red Sox can't afford to whiff on Bregman, too.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Dec. 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 29 Dec. 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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