whiffed

past tense of whiff
as in sniffed
to become aware of by means of the sense organs in the nose whiffed the pot of chili on the stove and announced that he was staying for dinner

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 whiffed The Dodgers whiffed 12 times Friday night, compared to the Jays’ four—all by Blake Snell, who had his worst start of the playoffs. Barry M. Bloom, Sportico.com, 25 Oct. 2025 Except Evan Engram whiffed at blocking New York’s Cor’Dale Flott, and Adam Trautman and Nate Adkins both went to the same Giant and missed. Luca Evans, Denver Post, 23 Oct. 2025 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 After Torkelson was tied up and whiffed for the final strike, the Comerica Park crowd booed. Cody Stavenhagen, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025 Walmart whiffed its Scope 1 and 3 objectives in 2024. Jasmin Malik Chua, Sourcing Journal, 8 Oct. 2025 The Houston Astros whiffed on six of their 10 swings against him, including four of five against his sweeper. Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 28 Sep. 2025 The Pats allowed too many explosive plays in Week 1, and whiffed on too many tackles Sunday. Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 16 Sep. 2025 All this acrimony stemmed from a case where Fulton County Prosecutor Fani Willis spectacularly whiffed while attempting to criminalize rap lyrics and super glue the misdeeds of everyone Thug and Gunna knew onto them. Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whiffed
Verb
  • The Raiders sniffed out a screen before a pop-pass gave him a lane for his first touchdown in 392 days.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2025
  • San Marcos tried a flea flicker on its last-gasp play, but it was sniffed out by the Carlsbad defense.
    John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The cafeteria smelled the same.
    Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2025
  • The sergeant noted at least 12 bruises alone were found on the boy from the forehead down to the jaw on both sides of Campbell's face and that the child smelled overwhelmingly like urine.
    Adrienne Davis, jsonline.com, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Its use was banned in many countries around the turn of the millennium amid concerns that the fibers, when airborne, could result in potentially fatal lung diseases if inhaled.
    Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
  • Previous research has found that TCE, when inhaled or ingested, can easily cross the blood-brain barrier and cause damage to neurons.
    Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Whiffed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whiffed. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

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