Sniff usually means to breathetake air into the lungs and let it out again in through your nose so you can smelluse the nose to detect an odor or fragrance something, or to make a short sound of breathing in through the nose. It can also name that quick smell-taking actionsomething done; an act or process itself.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-26. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Pronunciation
AI-generated pronunciation audio (OpenAI).
Accent: General American English
IPA: /snɪf/
Easy pronunciation: SNIF (approximate spelling).
Stress: One syllable; stress is on the only syllable.
Verb meaning to perceive a smell by breathing in through the nose.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-26. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Sniff Meaning
to smell something by inhaling through your nose
Part of speech: verb
Definition: to perceive a smell by breathing in through the nose
Example: He sniffed the air and noticed the smell of smoke.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- whiff — Used as a loose substitute in the supplied data, but it is less common as a direct synonym in everyday use.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-26. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Other Meanings of Sniff
Meaning 2
the act of smelling something briefly through the nose
Part of speech: noun
Definition: a short breath taken in through the nose, especially to smell something
Example: She gave the flowers a quick sniff.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- snuff — Fits the noun sense of taking in a smell, though it is not a perfect everyday replacement.
Meaning 3
to breathe in through the nose with a noisy sound
Part of speech: verb
Definition: to inhale audibly through the nose, often because of a cold, crying, or irritation
Example: The child kept sniffing because of the cold.
Synonyms for this meaning:
- sniffle — Good for the noisy, often repeated nose-breathing sense.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-26. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Sniff Synonyms
Similar Meaning
- whiff
noun: a short breath taken in through the nose
- snuff
verb: to inhale audibly through the nose
- sniffle
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: uncertain — manual review needed. Checked: 2026-10-26. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Common Mistakes
- Using sniff as if it only means crying or having a cold; it can also simply mean smelling something briefly.
- Confusing the noun sniff with the verb sniffing; they are related but not the same part of speech.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-26. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does sniff mean?
Sniff usually means to breathe in through your nose so you can smell something, or the short sound/action of doing that.
What is a simple synonym for sniff?
For the smell-related verb sense, whiff is the closest synonym in the supplied data. For the noisy nose-breathing sense, sniffle works better.
Is sniff a noun or a verb?
It can be both. As a verb, it means to smell something or breathe in through the nose. As a noun, it means a quick inhale through the nose.
Reviewed with OpenAI Decisions. Assessment: accurate. Checked: 2026-10-26. AI assessment; not a guarantee of accuracy.