sniff B2 Topic:Actions & Processes US /snəf/ UK /snɪf/ See IPA manual Freq #8617 Meanings 1 verb To breathe in through your nose in a short, audible way, often to smell something. The dog sniffed at the stranger's shoes. 2 verb To smell something by breathing in through your nose. She sniffed the milk to check if it was still fresh. 3 verb To breathe in through your nose because you are crying or have a cold. He sniffed and wiped away a tear. Verb forms Verb forms are not available for this word yet. Multiword verbs with sniff sniff out Phrasal verb B2 to discover something by following its smell Thesaurus Synonyms 1 verb · to breathe in through your... sniffle 2 verb · to smell something by... whiff Word family Forms sniffedsniffingsniffs Derived forms antisniffingre-sniffsniffinglysniffishsnifflesnoofunsniffed Appears in Phrases (1) See all sniff out to discover something by smell or careful investigation Verb + adverb Etymology From Middle English sniffen, of imitative origin. sniffen Middle English View etymology graph -> Topics Actions & Processes External links Google Images Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary # sniff **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** verb **IPA (US):** /snəf/ **IPA (UK):** /snɪf/ **Frequency rank:** 8617 ## Meanings 1. To breathe in through your nose in a short, audible way, often to smell something. 2. To smell something by breathing in through your nose. 3. To breathe in through your nose because you are crying or have a cold. ## Examples - The dog sniffed at the stranger's shoes. - She sniffed the milk to check if it was still fresh. - He sniffed and wiped away a tear. ## Derived Forms - antisniffing - re-sniff - sniffingly - sniffish - sniffle - snoof - unsniffed ## Roots and Affixes - Root: sniffen ## Etymology From Middle English sniffen, of imitative origin. ## Topics - Actions & Processes markdown