sniff

CEFRB2

/snɪf/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    To breathe in through your nose to smell something.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    To perceive vaguely.

Examples

  • Why do you sniff things you see on the ground?

  • Sniff, Rover was a good dog.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
1

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meaning

  1. To say (something) while sniffing, such as in case of illness or unhappiness, or in contempt.

verb

Extra meanings

  1. To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as when smelling something.

  2. To be dismissive or contemptuous of something; used with at.

More examples

In context

  • "He's never coming back, is he?" she sniffed while looking at a picture of him.

  • I sniffed the meat to see whether it had gone off.

  • The dog sniffed around the park, searching for a nice scent.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The dog will blank the ground using its nose to find the buried treat.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English sniffen, of imitative origin.