waft 1 of 2

noun

Definition of waftnext
as in breeze
a slight or gentle movement of air wafts carrying the scent of spring flowers

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

waft

2 of 2

verb

ˈwäft How to pronounce waft (audio)
as in to hover
to rest or move along the surface of a liquid or in the air a feather wafted past us and settled on the grass

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of waft
Noun
At lunchtime, Bosnian and English bounce between the tables while delicious aromas waft in from the kitchen. — Timothy Depeugh, Southern Living, 25 July 2026 There are flies, rats and, if the wind shifts every so slightly, a waft of thick, nauseating air from the warehouse. — Los Angeles Times, 23 July 2026
Verb
At the peak, more than 100 million Americans — from the Midwest to the East Coast — were under serious air-quality alerts from the smoke, which wafted into the states from Canada, where thousands of Ontario residents were evacuated. — Charles Selle, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026 The smoke that wafted into the atmosphere from the fires was filled with reflective, cloud-interacting aerosols, contributing to a brightening of low marine clouds over the southeast subtropical Pacific. — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 16 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for waft
Recent Examples of Synonyms for waft
  1. breeze
  2. hover
  3. puff
  4. sail
  5. breath
  6. float
  7. drift
  8. swim
Noun
  • The onshore breeze will steer storms to the west later on Tuesday.
    — Lissette Gonzalez, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • There’s even an open-air spa on the back deck with a single wooden massage table surrounded by white curtains that billow in the breeze.
    — Annie Daly, Vogue, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of breeze
Verb
  • In addition, jobless claims have hovered around 200,000 a week, and the number of job openings has been rising over the past six months, Slok pointed out.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 15 Aug. 2026
  • No one will string the words together and actually say it out loud, but as former players and Campbell tap-dance around the uncomfortable question about what’s changed, the message hovering between the lines is not difficult to read.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026
Definition of hover
Noun
  • But Winn left a pitch over the middle that Trammell hit for a leadoff triple in the eighth, Nick Allen’s sacrifice fly gave the Astros the lead, and in the ninth, Koss’ fly ball needed one more puff of breeze.
    — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Of course, with that, as CA AG Rob Bonta made clear in a guest column for Deadline, Paamount is still facing an antitrust trial next spring that could see the whole ParaBros dream disappear in a puff of judicial smoke.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of puff
Verb
  • The incident took place earlier this month when a vessel was sailing in a fjord in northeastern Svalbard, around 620 miles from the North Pole.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 13 Aug. 2026
  • However, tankers bound for Asia from the Mediterranean must sail around Africa, adding roughly 25 days to the journey compared with the Bab-el Mandeb route.
    — , CNBC, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of sail
Noun
  • Records from that time indicated state troopers found Farinacci sitting on a park bench, out of breath, the affidavit reads.
    — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
  • As search teams go through the rubble looking for any signs of life, the community in Queens is holding its breath and holding out hope.
    — Jennifer Bisram, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of breath
Verb
  • The custom floating hot tub can seat up to six people and moves at a cool 3 miles per hour through the calm waters north of Logan Airport.
    — Brandon Truitt, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • In that test, the first-stage booster returned to a floating platform about six minutes after ⁠the separation of its first and upper stage, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
    — Sylvie Zhuang, CNN Money, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of float
Verb
  • If decisions about that work keep drifting toward people at spreadsheet distance from it, the mistakes will not land on them.
    — Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Reilly two-putted for par, and won the match when Cowan's par putt drifted to the right.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of drift
Verb
  • In July, a 17-year-old died while swimming in a Milford quarry.
    — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 16 Aug. 2026
  • On Instagram, young people were sharing videos about how to swim into Ceuta.
    — Miguel Macias, NPR, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of swim

Browse Nearby Words

waffling
waft
wafted
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Cite this Entry

“Waft.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/waft. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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