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whiff

noun · verb · adjective

Simple meaning

A short inhalation or exhalation of breath.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

wif
US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈwɪf

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A short inhalation or exhalation of breath, especially when accompanied by smoke from a cigarette or pipe.

  2. A brief, gentle breeze; a light gust of air; a waft.

  3. An odour (usually unpleasant) carried briefly through the air.

  4. A flag used as a signal.

  5. figuratively

    A slight sign of something; a burst, a glimpse, a hint.

  6. figuratively

    A slight attack or touch.

verb

  1. transitive

    To carry or convey (something) by, or as by, a whiff or puff of air; to blow, puff, or waft away.

  2. Utter with a puff of air

  3. Drive or carry as if by a puff of air

    “The gust of air whiffed away the clouds.”

  4. transitive

    To say (something) with an exhalation of breath.

  5. Smoke and exhale strongly

  6. transitive

    To inhale or exhale (smoke from tobacco, etc.) from a cigarette, pipe, or other smoking implement; to smoke (a cigarette, pipe, etc.); to puff.

adjective

  1. informal

    Having a strong or unpleasant odour.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient
Frequency
Rare
Typical Use
Primarily written

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A brief, gentle breeze; a light gust of air; a waft.

Used this way, whiff is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Slightly positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Mild
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Positive and appreciative
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

first whifffaint whiffstrong whiffgood whiffwhiff testdeep whifflast whifflong whiff

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • get a whiffverbCompound term

    Smell strongly and intensely.

  • horned whiffnounCompound term

    A whiff found in waters from the Bahamas and northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil.

  • skew-whiffadverbCompound term

    Turned or twisted to one side.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.