sniff

sniff¹ [snıf] v

[Date: 1300-1400; Origin: From the sound]

1.)

to breathe air into your nose noisily, for example when you are crying or have a cold

▪ Margaret sniffed miserably and nodded.

▪ Stop sniffing and blow your nose.

2.) [I and T]

to breathe air in through your nose in order to smell something

▪ He opened the milk and sniffed it.

sniff at

▪ The dog was sniffing at the carpet.

3.) [T]

to say something in a way that shows you think something is not good enough

▪ 'Is that all?' she sniffed.

4.) [T]

to take a harmful drug by breathing it up your nose

→↑snort

▪ kids who sniff glue

sniff at [sniff at sth] [i]phr v

1.) sth is not to be sniffed at

spoken especially BrE used to say that something is good enough to be accepted or considered seriously

▪ An 8% salary increase is not to be sniffed at.

2.) to refuse something in a proud way, or behave as if something is not good enough for you

▪ He sniffed at my choice of restaurants and suggested his own favorite.

sniff out [sniff sth<=>out] phr v

1.) to discover or find something by its smell

▪ A customs officer came round with a dog to sniff out drugs.

2.) informal to find out or discover something

▪ Vic's been trying to sniff out where you went last night.

sniff ²

sniff² n

1.) when you breathe in air noisily through your nose, for example in order to smell something, because you have a cold, or in order to show your disapproval

▪ a sniff of disapproval

▪ She gave a loud sniff .

2.) BrE informal a small amount or sign of something

= ↑hint sniff of

▪ He got us into this mess, and then left at the first sniff of trouble !

3.) have a sniff around/round

BrE informal to examine a place carefully

4.) not get a sniff of sth

BrE informal to not have any chance of getting something or being successful

▪ He never even got a sniff of the target.