Whiff

Definition: Whiff

Whiff

Noun

1. A short light gust of air.

2. A lefteye flounder found in coastal waters from New England to Brazil.

3. A strikeout resulting from the batter swinging at and missing the ball for the third strike.

Verb

1. Perceive by inhaling through the nose; "sniff the perfume".

2. Drive or carry as if by a puff of air; "The gust of air whiffed away the clouds".

3. Of a baseball batter: strike out by swinging and missing the pitch charged as the third.

4. Smoke and exhale strongly; "puff a cigar"; "whiff a pipe".

5. Utter with a puff of air; "whiff out a prayer".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "whiff" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1601. (references)

Note: Whiff \Whiff\, transitive verb. [imperfect & past participle. Whiffed; Whiffing.]. (references)

Synonyms: Whiff

Attack

Fire, volley; platoon fire, file fire; fusillade; sharpshooting, broadside; raking fire, cross fire; volley of grapeshot, whiff of the grape, feu d'enfer.

Discovery

Be near the truth, be warm, get warmer, burn; smoke, scent, sniff, catch a whiff of, smell a rat.

Excitability

Passion, excitement, flush, heat; fever, heat; fire, flame, fume, blood boiling; tumult; effervescence, ebullition; boiling over; whiff, gust, story, tempest; scene, breaking out, burst, fit, paroxysm, explosion; outbreak, outburst; agony.

Wind

Respire, breathe, puff; whiff, whiffle; gasp, wheeze; snuff, snuffle; sniff, sniffle; sneeze, cough.

Noun: wind, draught, flatus, afflatus, efflation, eluvium; air; breath, breath of air; puff, whiff, zephyr; blow, breeze, drift; aura; stream, current, jet stream; undercurrent.

Crosswords: Whiff

I smell expulsion and just the faintest whiff of jail (Buffy the Vampire Slayer; writing credit: Doreen Spicer)

Once women get a whiff of it, what can I do (The Magnificent Seven; writing credit: Josef Anderson; Chris Black)

One whiff of this and you'll forget everything (A Day at the Races; writing credit: Robert Pirosh; George Seaton)

Old Whiff (1958)

A Whiff of Onion (1913)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• A Whiff and a Sniff : My Five Senses Series (reference)

• A whiff of burnt boats (reference)

• A Whiff of Danger (An Avon Camelot Book) (reference)

• A whiff of death (reference)

• A Whiff Of Garlic (A Silver Dagger Mystery) (reference)

  (more book examples)

Music

• Get a Whiff of This [IMPORT] (reference)

• Lie Back & Enjoy It / Get a Whiff a This (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Foot weary soldiers, returning from a hike, catch the welcome whiff of dinner. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

A whiff of fetidness informed him where he was.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Expressions using "whiff": catch a whiff of ♦ get a whiff ♦ horned whiff ♦ take a whiff ♦ whiff aside ♦ whiff of the grape. Additional references.

Ending with "whiff": skew-whiff.

Albanian

vjen erë (smack, smell), tymos (fume, puff, smoke out, smoke-dry), tyftajë, qelbet, grahmë (agony, death pangs, death rattle, death throes, throe), erë (blow, era, Flavor, flavour, odor, odour, scent, smack, smell, time, wind), e thithur e cigares, duhmë (puff). (various references)

Arabic 

‏هبة (benevolence, bestowal, blast, boon, bounty, charity, contribution, donation, endowment, gift, grant, liberality, offering, outburst, present, privilege, puff, waft), ‏نفحة, ‏نفخة (blast, breath, flatulence, flatulency, gust, puff), ‏نشقة من هواء, ‏إستنشق (inhale, sniff, snuff). (various references)

Bulgarian 

малка пура, изпускам кълба дим (puff), пафкам, подухвам (blow lightly, puff), полъх (breath of air, breathing, breeze, puff, waft, zephyr), повей (breath, puff), пуша (fume, puff at, reek, smoke, smolder, smoulder), лек дъх, движа се пуфтейки, лъх (breathing, odor, odour, puff, tincture, tinge), следа (footprint, ghost, odor, odour, print, rag, relic, relish, remnant, rudiment, savor, savour, scar, scent, scintilla, shadow, show, shred, sign, spice, tang, touch, trace, track, trail, train, trait, vestige), нищожество (insect, nit, nobody, nonentity, nothing, null, nullity, pygmy, squit, wet), вдишвам (inhale, inspire, respire), вдишване (drag, inspiration), вид лека гребна лодка, всмукване (absorption, draw, indraft, indraught, influx, intake, suck, suction), клюка (cambock, cammock, gossip, noise, scuttlebutt, tale), тънка струйка от дим, риба подобна на калкан, лека миризма. (various references)

Chinese 

股 (part, portion, section, share, thigh), 吹送 (Whiffed, Whiffing). (various references)

Czech

závan (blast, blow, flatus, guff, gust, puff, wag), bafnutí, bafat (chug, puff). (various references)

Danish

glashvarre (megrim, sail-fluke), cigarillo (cigarillo, large whiff), almindelig glashvarre (megrim, sail-fluke). (various references)

Dutch

steenschulle (carter meg, megrim, sail fluke, west coast sole, white sole), steenscharre (carter meg, megrim, sail fluke, west coast sole, white sole), schotse schol (carter meg, megrim, sail fluke, sail-fluke, west coast sole, white sole), schartong (carter meg, megrim, sail fluke, west coast sole, white sole), scharretong (carter meg, megrim, sail fluke, sail-fluke, west coast sole, white sole), megrim (carter meg, megrim, sail fluke, west coast sole, white sole), cigarillo (cigarillo). (various references)

Farsi 

پف (Puff, Snuff), پرچم (Banner, Ensign, Stamina, Standard), نفخه , چاخان (Bluff, Quack), وزیدن (Blow, Puff), وزاندن , وزش (Blast, Bop, Guff, Plunk, Whop), دود (Smoke), دروغ گفتن (Belie, Equivocate, Gab, Prevaricate, Weasel), دروغ درچیزی گفتن , بو (Aroma, Savor, Scent, Smell), باصدای پف حرکت دادن , باد (Air, Blast, Gale, Squall). (various references)

Finnish

pikkusikari (cigarillo, large whiff), lasikampela (megrim, sail-fluke), henkäys (breath, puff), haiku (puff), cigarillo (cigarillo, large whiff). (various references)

French

souffle, respirer, odeur fugace, limande salope, grésillement, cigarillo (large whiff), cardine franche, cardine, bouffée, \MEG. (various references)

German

Hauch (air, aura, breath, breeze, ghost, hint, modicum, moiety, puff, smack, smell, spice, tinge, waft). (various references)

Greek 

σιγαρίλο (cigarillo, large whiff), γλώσσα (language, lingo, plaice, sole, tongue), μυρουδιά (scent), πνοή (breath, puff), πουράκι (cigarillo, large whiff), φύσημα (blast, blatancy, blow, flurry, gust, puff, snort), φυσώ (blast, blow, puff, snort), ζαγκέτα (megrim, sail-fluke). (various references)

Hungarian

fuvallat (breath, waft, wind). (various references)

Indonesian

endusan, endus (find out, get wond of, smell), ciuman (kiss, kissing, osculation, sniff). (various references)

Italian

soffio (bladder, blister, blow, breath, bubble, murmur, puff, souffle, waft, whiffle). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

一吹き (a blast, gust, puff). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

ひとふき (a blast, gust, puff). (various references)

Manx

soaral (odorous, pong, scent, scented, sense of smell, smell, smelling), sigar beg, sheidey ayns sheebageyn, sheebage (puff), cottey. (various references)

Pig Latin

iffwhay.(various references)

Portuguese

sopro (blow, blowing, breath, puff, souffle), lufada (puff), cigarrilha (cigarillo, large whiff), baforada (bad breath, bravado, long exhalation, puff of smoke), bafo (breath, exhalation, impulse, incentive, patronage, protection, puff, waft), areeiro (megrim, riffler, sail-fluke, sand distributor, sander, sandtable). (various references)

Romanian

suflu (blast, blowing, breath, soul, wind), sufla (blow, blow one's nose, breathe, gasp, prompt, puff, whisper), pufãit (pant), pufãi (pant, puff), miros uşor, iz (Flavor, flavour, reek, savor, savour, smack, taste, touch), fum (flue, fume, reek, smoke, smother), adiere (air, aura, breath, breathing, breeze, gale, puff, wind, zephyr), adia (blow, breathe, puff, wave), ţigarã micã. (various references)

Russian 

струя (current, flow, jet, jet of, spirt, spout, squirt, stream), небольшая сигарета, затяжка (draught, string, toke), попахивать....легкий запах, дымок (puff). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

prijatan miris (aroma), dah (breath, puff, wind). (various references)

Spanish

vaho (blur, fume, haze, mist, steam, vapor, vapour), vaharada, soplo fugaz, soplo (blast, blow, blowing, breath, gust, puff, tip, waft), olorcillo (soupcon), olor fugaz, oler (give off an odour, nose, pry, reek, savor, savour, scent, smack, smell, smell out, sniff, sniff out), gallo (boss, chanticleer, dory, expert, rooster), cigarro pequeno sin capillo (cigarillo, large whiff), bocanada (mouthful, puff). (various references)

Swedish

pusta (huff, puff), pust (breath, puff). (various references)

Turkish

nefes (breath, exhalation, wind), koku dalgası, koku (aura, drag, exhalation, Flavor, flavour, fragrance, odor, odour, redolence, scent, smell, wind), kötü kokutmak, kötü kokmak (smell, stink), ima (adumbration, allusion, finger post, glance at, hint, implicitness, innuendo, insinuation, intimation, mention, office, pointer, reference, smell, suggestion, whisper), esinti (air, blow, breath, breeze, puff, waft, wind, zephyr), üflemek (blow, blow out, breathe upon, insufflate, puff, puff out, whiffle). (various references)

Ukrainian

свист (catcall, hissing, phut, ping, swish, whew, whistle, whistling, whiz, whizz, whoosh, zing, zip), ялик (sculler, skiff), коротка сигара, віяти (blow, breeze in, winnow), вимпел (banderol, banderole, pennant, pennon, streamer), нюхати (nose, nuzzle, olfact, smell, sniff), затяжка (pull), пускати кільця диму, принюхуватися (scent about, wind), подув (air, blow, blowing, breath, breathing, flatus, sigh, waft, waftage), плоска риба (flounder). (various references)

Vietnamese 

lu�"ng (current). (various references)

Welsh

chwiffiad (jiffy). (various references)

Lepidorhombus megastoma, Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis, Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis (Walbaum,1792). (various references)

Derivations

Words beginning with "whiff": whiffed, whiffer, whiffers, whiffet, whiffets, whiffing, whiffle, whiffled, whiffler, whifflers, whiffles, whiffletree, whiffletrees, whiffling, whiffs. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Whiff" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: bhiff, heiff, whaf, whaif, whif, whift, whive, whuff, wiff, wrif. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-2 letters: iff.

-3 letters: hi, if.

+1 letter: whiffs.

+2 letters: whiffed, whiffer, whiffet, whiffle.

+3 letters: fishwife, whiffers, whiffets, whiffing, whiffled, whiffler, whiffles, wolffish.

+4 letters: whifflers, whiffling.

+5 letters: wolffishes.