Meaning & use
whiff
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Meanings
nouncountable
A brief, faint smell that you notice for a moment.
Grammar: Countable and usually followed by of: a whiff of smoke.
Patterns
- a whiff of something
- catch a whiff of something
I caught a whiff of fresh bread as I passed the bakery.
A whiff of smoke drifted through the window.
The whiff of his perfume lingered in the elevator.
nouncountablefigurative
A slight sign or hint that something unpleasant or suspicious is going on.
Grammar: Figurative; often followed by of with abstract nouns like scandal or corruption.
Patterns
- a whiff of scandal
- a whiff of something
The deal had a whiff of corruption about it.
There was a whiff of scandal around the senator.
The project gave off a whiff of failure from the start.
verbtransitive or intransitiveinformalBritish
To give off a smell, or to smell something briefly.
Grammar: Informal; in British English it can mean to smell bad: it whiffs in here.
Patterns
- whiff of something
- whiff something
The gym bag whiffed of old socks.
I whiffed the soup and decided it was spoiled.
Something in the fridge was whiffing badly.
Word forms
| plural | whiffs |
|---|---|
| third person singular | whiffs |
| past tense | whiffed |
| -ing form | whiffing |
Common combinations
- catch a whiff
- I caught a whiff of garlic from the kitchen.
- a whiff of scandal
- The campaign had a whiff of scandal.
- get a whiff of
- Dogs get a whiff of food from far away.
- a faint whiff
- A faint whiff of lavender filled the room.
- a whiff of danger
- There was a whiff of danger in the air.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scent
- Scent is usually pleasant or distinctive and can last longer, while a whiff is a quick, passing smell.
- hint
- Hint is the abstract equivalent and suits figurative use, but it does not refer to smell.
- trace
- Trace means a very small amount of something, not necessarily noticed by nose.
- odor
- Odor is a formal word for any smell, often unpleasant, and does not suggest briefness.
Word family
Commonly confused: whiff or wife? whiff or whim?
whiff vs wife
Wife is a married woman and only looks similar to whiff in writing.
whiff vs whim
Whim is a sudden impulse and has nothing to do with smell.
Practice
As soon as she opened the door, she caught a ____ of burning toast.
Choose one answer.
A whiff is a brief smell, so catching a whiff of toast makes sense. A whim is an impulse, a wafer is a thin biscuit and a whisk is a kitchen tool.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “whiff”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.