1
a
: a quick puff or slight gust especially of air, odor, gas, smoke, or spray
b
: an inhalation of odor, gas, or smoke
c
: a slight puffing or whistling sound
2
: a slight trace or indication
a whiff of scandal
3
whiffed; whiffing; whiffs
1
: to move with or as if with a puff of air
3
: to inhale an odor
1
2
: fan sense 8
whiffed three batters
Synonyms
Examples of whiff in a Sentence
Noun
I got a whiff of new paint when I entered the room.
I detected a whiff of sarcasm in her voice.
The pitcher had eight whiffs during the game.
Verb
He whiffed a strong odor of perfume.
The golfer nearly whiffed the shot.
The golfer nearly whiffed on the shot.
Recent Examples on the Web
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Story links: Sam McDowell: The Royals and Chiefs should blame themselves, not voters, for stadium tax failures
Vahe Gregorian: After stadium tax whiff, Royals, Chiefs should heed message and work to earn trust
This story was originally published April 3, 2024, 3:08 PM.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
PolitiFact Wisconsin, Trump again flat wrong with claims about Wisconsin voter fraud, Nov. 20, 2020.
PolitiFact Wisconsin, Trump whiffs describing Wisconsin ballot case, Oct. 9, 2020.
—Journal Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2024
In fact, Shatz thinks this word—which does have a whiff of ethnic cleansing—is a mistranslation.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
Catch whiffs of the salty beach air along every mile.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 25 Mar. 2024
But get close and a whiff of its blossoms may send you running.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024
Luzardo is experimenting with adding a curveball to his arsenal that already includes a 97 mph four-seam fastball, a slider that had a 51.8-percent whiff rate and a changeup.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2024
While its tamer options like Forest are nice in a Febreze sort of way, anyone sensitive to smell, like myself, might get a headache after a few whiffs of car stink.
—Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 21 Mar. 2024
Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Yankees hitters whiffed three times on seven swings against the pitch, which averaged 89 mph and maxed out at 90.7 mph.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024
The Munch whiffed on food safety and cleanliness when Florida Department of Agriculture inspector James Zheng and trainee Julio Azpurua dropped by Tuesday.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
Reese, a junior power forward, whiffed on two free throws with 38 seconds left in the first overtime.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2024
Off the ensuing face-off, Girard launched a shot from just across the mid-ice stripe and Kochetkov whiffed on gloving the puck.
—Bob Sutton, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2024
Strikeouts, 175 of them, have been a problem, though Judge has whiffed at a much higher rate for years.
—Chuck Murr, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024
The Aztecs have done the first two things but whiffed on their first two road encounters against the Mountain West’s top tier, getting drilled at New Mexico and fading down the stretch at Boise State.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Jan. 2024
The Oscars had all but whiffed on the biggest movie of the year.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2024
Noun
The result at times carries the whiff of something simultaneously refreshing and nostalgic: less a vacation project and closer to an imagined hybrid of Dostoevsky, Eric Rohmer and Claude Chabrol, in which an inconvenient romantic spark leads to cold-blooded problem-solving.
—Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2024
Story links: Sam McDowell: The Royals and Chiefs should blame themselves, not voters, for stadium tax failures
Vahe Gregorian: After stadium tax whiff, Royals, Chiefs should heed message and work to earn trust
This story was originally published April 3, 2024, 3:08 PM.
—Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2024
PolitiFact Wisconsin, Trump again flat wrong with claims about Wisconsin voter fraud, Nov. 20, 2020.
PolitiFact Wisconsin, Trump whiffs describing Wisconsin ballot case, Oct. 9, 2020.
—Journal Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2024
In fact, Shatz thinks this word—which does have a whiff of ethnic cleansing—is a mistranslation.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 28 Mar. 2024
Catch whiffs of the salty beach air along every mile.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 25 Mar. 2024
But get close and a whiff of its blossoms may send you running.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024
Luzardo is experimenting with adding a curveball to his arsenal that already includes a 97 mph four-seam fastball, a slider that had a 51.8-percent whiff rate and a changeup.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 23 Mar. 2024
While its tamer options like Forest are nice in a Febreze sort of way, anyone sensitive to smell, like myself, might get a headache after a few whiffs of car stink.
—Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 21 Mar. 2024
Verb
The Dodgers swung and missed on 14 of Winn’s 89 pitches, the most whiffs any pitcher has totaled against the powerful lineup so far this season.
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Yankees hitters whiffed three times on seven swings against the pitch, which averaged 89 mph and maxed out at 90.7 mph.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 1 Mar. 2024
The Munch whiffed on food safety and cleanliness when Florida Department of Agriculture inspector James Zheng and trainee Julio Azpurua dropped by Tuesday.
—David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 29 Feb. 2024
Reese, a junior power forward, whiffed on two free throws with 38 seconds left in the first overtime.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 10 Feb. 2024
Off the ensuing face-off, Girard launched a shot from just across the mid-ice stripe and Kochetkov whiffed on gloving the puck.
—Bob Sutton, USA TODAY, 9 Feb. 2024
Strikeouts, 175 of them, have been a problem, though Judge has whiffed at a much higher rate for years.
—Chuck Murr, Forbes, 12 Feb. 2024
The Aztecs have done the first two things but whiffed on their first two road encounters against the Mountain West’s top tier, getting drilled at New Mexico and fading down the stretch at Boise State.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Jan. 2024
The Oscars had all but whiffed on the biggest movie of the year.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whiff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
imitative
First Known Use
Noun
1591, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Verb
1591, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Phrases Containing whiff
Dictionary Entries Near whiff
Cite this Entry
“Whiff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whiff. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy Citation
Kids Definition
whiff
1 of 2 noun
ˈhwif 
ˈwif
1
: a quick puff or slight gust
a whiff of air
2
: a small quantity of odor, gas, or smoke that is breathed in
whiff
2 of 2 verb1
: to blow out or away in small amounts
2
: to breathe in an odor
More from Merriam-Webster on whiff
Nglish: Translation of whiff for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of whiff for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about whiff
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