Nothing Special   »   [go: up one dir, main page]

Fine Dictionary

whiff

wɪf
WordNet
Interesting fact
The blow of a whale has a strong, foul odor. It apparently smells like a combination of spoiled fish and old oil. Because whales have such terrible breath, sailors believed at one time that a whiff of it could cause brain disorders.
  1. (v) whiff
    utter with a puff of air "whiff out a prayer"
  2. (v) whiff
    smoke and exhale strongly "puff a cigar","whiff a pipe"
  3. (v) whiff
    strike out by swinging and missing the pitch charged as the third
  4. (v) whiff
    drive or carry as if by a puff of air "The gust of air whiffed away the clouds"
  5. (v) whiff
    perceive by inhaling through the nose "sniff the perfume"
  6. (n) whiff
    a strikeout resulting from the batter swinging at and missing the ball for the third strike
  7. (n) whiff
    a lefteye flounder found in coastal waters from New England to Brazil
  8. (n) whiff
    a short light gust of air
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
  1. Whiff
    A glimpse; a hasty view.
  2. Whiff
    (Zoöl) The marysole, or sail fluke.
  3. Whiff
    To carry or convey by a whiff, or as by a whiff; to puff or blow away. "Old Empedocles, . . . who, when he leaped into Etna, having a dry, sear body, and light, the smoke took him, and whiffed him up into the moon."
  4. Whiff
    To emit whiffs, as of smoke; to puff.
  5. Whiff
    To throw out in whiffs; to consume in whiffs; to puff.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
  1. (n) whiff
    A slight blast or gust of air; especially, a puff of air conveying some smell.
  2. (n) whiff
    A quick inhalation of air, and especially of smoke; a drawing or drinking; in of smoke; also, a draught or drink, as of wine or liquid.
  3. (n) whiff
    A sudden expulsion of air, smoke, or the like from the mouth; a puff.
  4. (n) whiff
    A hasty view; a glimpse; a gliff.
  5. (n) whiff
    At Oxford and other places on the Thames, a light kind of outrigger boat. It is timber-built throughout, thus differing from a skiff, which is a racing-boat, usually of cedar, and covered with canvas for some distance at the bow and stern. Encyc. Dict.
  6. whiff
    To puff; blow; produce or emit a puff or whiff.
  7. whiff
    To drink.
  8. whiff
    To puff; puff out; exhale; blow: as, to whiff out rings of smoke.
  9. whiff
    To carry as by a slight blast or whiff of wind.
  10. whiff
    To draw in; imbibe; inhale: said of air or smoke, and frequently of liquids also.
  11. (n) whiff
    An anacanthine or malacopterygious fish of the family Pleuronectidæ, a kind of flatfish or flounder, the Cynicoglossus microcephalus, found in British waters; the smear-dab, sail-fluke, or marysole.
  12. whiff
    To fish, as for mackerel, with a hand-line. See whiffing, n.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary
  1. (n) Whiff
    hwif a sudden puff of air or smoke from the mouth: a slight blast: a light kind of outrigger boat:
  2. (v.t) Whiff
    to throw out in whiffs: to puff
  3. (v.i) Whiff
    to go out or off in a whiff
  4. (n) Whiff
    a fickle, light-headed person
  5. (v.i) Whiff
    hwif to fish with a hand-line
  6. (n) Whiff
    hwif (prov.) a glimpse
Etymology

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary OE. weffe, vapor, whiff, probably of imitative origin; cf. Dan. vift, a puff, gust, W. chwiff, a whiff, puff

Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary W. chwiff, a puff; imit.

Usage in the news

Whiffs in final debate over foreign policy. ashingtontimes.com

This week, Los Angeles got a whiff of the future. ired.com

It was not, however, a whiff of burning rubber that gave it away. economist.com

If that idea has the whiff of failure about it, well, sniff again. ired.com

Despite Smoak 's 2 homers, M's whiff way to ugly loss. thenewstribune.com

Or, "A Whiff of Nativism". theatlantic.com

A Wisp of Carbon, a Whiff of Gases. nytimes.com

It's rare to find a Santa Monica-based festival that doesn't take place within a whiff of the ocean. kcet.org

Effort to get team in Clovis whiffs. lamonitor.com

A whiff of glamour , smuggled from the past. mysanantonio.com

President shouldn't whiff on second chance for jobs and oil. ashingtontimes.com

Smith — Gapshots & Whiffs - tsmith@morrisdailyherald.com. morrisdailyherald.com

Giants 10, Astros 0 Cain whiffs 14 in first perfecto for franchise. sfgate.com

Like any familiar scent, the whiff of a new car can tug on our emotions. viamagazine.com

Southwest coach pokes fun at fantasy whiff. blog.mysanantonio.com

Usage in scientific papers

Think of a ruler held up vertically on your finger: this very unstable position will lead eventually to its collapse, as a result of a small (or an absence of adequate) motion of your hand or due to any tiny whiff of air.
How to grow a bubble: A model of myopic adapting agents

Usage in literature

Just this last night you will be able to carry away with you a whiff of real sweetbriar. "Rose of Old Harpeth" by Maria Thompson Daviess

It just needs a whiff of tobacco to complete our enjoyment. "Pearl of Pearl Island" by John Oxenham

You wouldn't mind my taking a whiff, sir, would you? "Red Money" by Fergus Hume

I catch the whiff of flowers. "Children of the Market Place" by Edgar Lee Masters

For, to tell the truth, Sancho, she gave me such a whiff of raw onions that it was like to upset me altogether. "Young Folks Treasury, Volume 3 (of 12)" by Various

The doctor had prescribed a tonic and a whiff of Simla frivolity; but Roy paid no heed. "Far to Seek" by Maud Diver

I had to sneak away, behind the shrubbery at the end of the garden, for stealthy whiffs. "Grey Roses" by Henry Harland

It still exhaled, like a whiff of lost roses, something of her vanished grace. "Slippy McGee, Sometimes Known as the Butterfly Man" by Marie Conway Oemler

Old men smoke slowly and in great whiffs with long intervals of silence between their observations. "The Strength of Gideon and Other Stories" by Paul Laurence Dunbar

And the whiff of the fresh clover-blossoms? "The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. 12, No. 74, December, 1863" by Various

Usage in poetry
"Dear Grif,
Here is a whiff
Of beautiful spring flowers;
The big red rose
Is for your nose,
As toward the sky it towers.
Give ear unto the gentle lay
That's only sad that it may please;
It is discreet, and light it is:
A whiff of wind o'er buds in May.
You little friend, your nose is ready; you sniff,
Asking for that expected walk,
(Your nostrils full of the happy rabbit-whiff)
And almost talk.
"Last night the moon had a golden ring,
And to-night no moon we see!"
The skipper, he blew whiff from his pipe,
And a scornful laugh laughed he.
Some were whose Scent exhaled the Asphodel,
And some whose Smoke gave forth a roseate Smell,
And some poor Weeds that told you at a Whiff
How they were made to Give Away, not Sell.
All things are well with her.
'T is good to be alive, to see the light
That plays upon the grass, to feel (and sigh
With perfect pleasure) the mild breezes stir
Among the garden roses, red and white,
With whiffs of fragrancy.