as in sniffing
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
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Recent Examples of whiffing
Instead, after whiffing on Ravens left tackle Ronnie Stanley and Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin, the Pats pushed all their chips in to land him.
—
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Overshooting a dodge or whiffing a swing usually leads to contact damage, followed by an enemy attack, which will stun you for a few frames for them to reposition, causing even more contact damage as the foe decides to move through you.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 19 Sep. 2025
But Treinen snuffed out the rally by whiffing Adames looking at a full-count 96 mph sinker that nicked the outside corner and Matt Chapman swinging at an 85 mph sweeper that was way outside.
—Mike Digiovanna, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Outside of star left tackle Christian Darrisaw and depth receiver Jalen Nailor, Minnesota has almost nothing left from the 2021 and ’22 draft classes after whiffing on high picks in 2022 on first-round safety Lewis Cine, second-round cornerback Andrew Booth and third-round guard Ed Ingram.
—Josh Dubow, Twin Cities, 4 Sep. 2025
All three outs in the ninth also came on strikeouts with Willi Castro and Dansby Swanson whiffing to strand Nico Hoerner.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Nick San Miguel of Around the Foghorn recently suggested the Giants could swing xa trade for Cleveland Guardians Gold Glove outfielder Steven Kwan in the offseason after whiffing at the trade deadline.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 26 Sep. 2025
Overshooting a dodge or whiffing a swing usually leads to contact damage, followed by an enemy attack, which will stun you for a few frames for them to reposition, causing even more contact damage as the foe decides to move through you.
—Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 19 Sep. 2025
But Treinen snuffed out the rally by whiffing Adames looking at a full-count 96 mph sinker that nicked the outside corner and Matt Chapman swinging at an 85 mph sweeper that was way outside.
—Mike Digiovanna, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
Outside of star left tackle Christian Darrisaw and depth receiver Jalen Nailor, Minnesota has almost nothing left from the 2021 and ’22 draft classes after whiffing on high picks in 2022 on first-round safety Lewis Cine, second-round cornerback Andrew Booth and third-round guard Ed Ingram.
—Josh Dubow, Twin Cities, 4 Sep. 2025
All three outs in the ninth also came on strikeouts with Willi Castro and Dansby Swanson whiffing to strand Nico Hoerner.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 15 Aug. 2025
Nick San Miguel of Around the Foghorn recently suggested the Giants could swing xa trade for Cleveland Guardians Gold Glove outfielder Steven Kwan in the offseason after whiffing at the trade deadline.
—Zach Pressnell, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whiffing
Verb
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During their stay, according to family members and personal notes, the stepdaughter, by then 14, walked in on Errol in her room allegedly sniffing her dirty underwear.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
23 Sep. 2025
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On Friday, Day 7, 52 searchers, including four dog teams sniffing around the area where Michelle was last seen, were on the mountain, when someone spotted what appeared to be blood in the snow.—
Ted Katauskas,
Outside,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Instead, toss them in a trash to replace with a new, fresher-smelling replacement.—
Ashlyn Needham,
Southern Living,
22 Sep. 2025
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Meanwhile, Super showed the lowest concentrations and came out smelling fresh.—
Pranjal Malewar,
New Atlas,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In particular, inhaling Aspergillus fumigatus can cause serious lung problems, including invasive pulmonary aspergillosis, aspergilloma, allergic asthma, pneumonitis and allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
20 Sep. 2025
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Within seconds of inhaling the foul odor, the white dog springs back in disgust and hastily shuffles to the other side of the bed, as though trying to escape the smell altogether.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Whiffing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whiffing. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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