- 1[intransitive] to breathe air in through your nose in a way that makes a sound, especially when you are crying, have a cold, etc. We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. She sniffed a little and dabbed at her eyes.
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- 2[transitive, intransitive] to breathe air in through the nose in order to discover or enjoy the smell of something synonym smell sniff something sniffing the fresh morning air to sniff glue sniff (at something) The dog sniffed at my shoes. see glue sniffing
- 3[transitive, intransitive] + speech sniff (something) to say something in a complaining or disapproving way “It's hardly what I'd call elegant,” she sniffed. Idioms
sniff
verbNAmE//snɪf//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they sniff he / she / it sniffs
past simple sniffed
-ing form sniffing
good enough to be accepted or considered seriously In those days, $20 was not a sum to be sniffed at. Phrasal Verbssniff aroundsniff atsniff out
Check pronunciation: sniff