whiff

  • noun 1 a smell that is smelt only briefly or faintly. 2 Brit. informal an unpleasant smell. 3 a trace or hint of something bad or exciting. 4 a puff or breath of air or smoke.

  • verb 1 get a brief or faint smell of. 2 Brit. informal give off an unpleasant smell.

  — ORIGIN imitative.

Perform another search of the Compact Oxford English Dictionary

About this dictionary
The Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English contains 145,000 words, phrases, and definitions.
Find out more about Oxford's range of English dictionaries
Sign up for the AskOxford Word of the Day

Search the Little Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Search the Concise Dictionary of First Names