Whiff (Verb)
Meaning 1
Drive or carry as if by a puff of air; "The gust of air whiffed away the clouds".
Classification
Verbs of walking, flying, swimming.
Examples
- A gentle breeze whiffed the leaves away from the pavement.
- The open window whiffed out the smoke that filled the room.
- The flame whiffed out the paper lantern, leaving it a smoldering ruin.
- A powerful gust of wind whiffed away the picnic blanket.
- A puff of steam whiffed the smog away from the city street.
Related Words
Meaning 2
Perceive by inhaling through the nose; "sniff the perfume".
Classification
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling.
Examples
- She took a step back to whiff the sweet fragrance emanating from the vase of freshly picked roses.
- As she entered the bakery, she could whiff the enticing aroma of warm pastries.
- You can whiff the salty ocean air as you walk along the beachfront promenade.
- I bent down to whiff the perfume on the small bottle of expensive fragrance.
- He raised the wine glass to his nose to whiff the bouquet before sipping.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 3
Utter with a puff of air; "whiff out a prayer".
Classification
Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing.
Examples
- She quickly whiffed out a prayer as the plane turbulence intensified.
- He whiffed a quiet apology to his friend across the crowded room.
- She whiffed a brief goodbye to her family from the departing train window.
- The chant began as a leader whiffed a gentle invocation to the spirits.
- The celebrant whiffed a quick blessing before releasing the doves.
Hypernyms
Related Words
Meaning 4
Smoke and exhale strongly; "puff a cigar"; "whiff a pipe".
Classification
Verbs of eating and drinking.
Examples
- The old man carefully lit the cigar, took a deep breath, and began to whiff out great clouds of smoke into the crisp morning air.
- After finishing his meal, he stepped outside to whiff on his favourite cigar, savoring the rich tobacco flavours.
- Sitting by the fireplace, the grandfather pulled out his old clay pipe and began to whiff gently, blowing out soft rings of smoke.
- The famous actor was often seen at jazz clubs, quietly whiffing on expensive Cuban cigars between sets.
- As the grandfather sat on the porch, he began to whiff on his long-lived pipe, the earthy aroma mingling with the fresh night air.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 5
Strike out by swinging and missing the pitch charged as the third.
Classification
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging.
Examples
- The umpire called the third strike as the batter whiffed on the 95-mph fastball.
- The cleanup hitter whiffed on three straight pitches, sealing the side in order.
- The usually reliable slugger had a miserable at bat, whiffing on every pitch.
- In a shocking display of futility, the home team's leadoff hitter whiffed twice before grounding out weakly.
- The visiting starter whiffed 12 batters, setting a new career high.