WHIFF

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does whiff mean? 

• WHIFF (noun)
  The noun WHIFF has 3 senses:

1. a short light gust of air

2. a lefteye flounder found in coastal waters from New England to Brazil

3. a strikeout resulting from the batter swinging at and missing the ball for the third strike

  Familiarity information: WHIFF used as a noun is uncommon.

• WHIFF (verb)
  The verb WHIFF has 5 senses:

1. perceive by inhaling through the nose

2. drive or carry as if by a puff of air

3. strike out by swinging and missing the pitch charged as the third

4. smoke and exhale strongly

5. utter with a puff of air

  Familiarity information: WHIFF used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WHIFF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A short light gust of air

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

puff; puff of air; whiff

Hypernyms ("whiff" is a kind of...):

blast; blow; gust (a strong current of air)

Derivation:

whiff (utter with a puff of air)

whiff (drive or carry as if by a puff of air)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A lefteye flounder found in coastal waters from New England to Brazil

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("whiff" is a kind of...):

lefteye flounder; lefteyed flounder (flatfishes with both eyes on the left side of the head)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "whiff"):

Citharichthys cornutus; horned whiff (a whiff found in waters from the Bahamas and northern Gulf of Mexico to Brazil)

Holonyms ("whiff" is a member of...):

Citharichthys; genus Citharichthys (a genus of Bothidae)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A strikeout resulting from the batter swinging at and missing the ball for the third strike

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("whiff" is a kind of...):

strikeout (an out resulting from the batter getting three strikes)

Derivation:

whiff (strike out by swinging and missing the pitch charged as the third)

• WHIFF (verb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Perceive by inhaling through the nose

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

sniff; whiff

Context example:

sniff the perfume

Hypernyms (to "whiff" is one way to...):

smell (inhale the odor of; perceive by the olfactory sense)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 2

Meaning:

Drive or carry as if by a puff of air

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Context example:

The gust of air whiffed away the clouds

Hypernyms (to "whiff" is one way to...):

blow (cause to move by means of an air current)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

whiff (a short light gust of air)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Strike out by swinging and missing the pitch charged as the third

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "whiff" is one way to...):

strike out (put out or be put out by a strikeout)

Domain category:

ball; baseball; baseball game (a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Derivation:

whiff (a strikeout resulting from the batter swinging at and missing the ball for the third strike)

whiffer (a batter who strikes out by swinging at and missing the third strike)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Smoke and exhale strongly

Classified under:

Verbs of eating and drinking

Synonyms:

puff; whiff

Context example:

whiff a pipe

Hypernyms (to "whiff" is one way to...):

smoke (inhale and exhale smoke from cigarettes, cigars, pipes)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 5

Meaning:

Utter with a puff of air

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Context example:

whiff out a prayer

Hypernyms (to "whiff" is one way to...):

mouth; speak; talk; utter; verbalise; verbalize (express in speech)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

whiff (a short light gust of air)

 Context examples 

This little whiff of temper seemed to cool Silver down.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

At the very first whiff of it my brain and my imagination were beyond all control.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The sight of him was like a whiff of South Down air coming into that low-roofed, oil-smelling room, and I ran forward to shake him by the hand.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He drew the first whiff of smoke deep into his lungs and expelled it in a long and lingering exhalation.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The string was of the quality which is used by sailmakers aboard ship, and at once a whiff of the sea was perceptible in our investigation.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

From just one whiff, these primates can tell which prospective partners have immune genes different from their own.

(Lemurs can smell whether a mate's immune genes are a good match, National Science Foundation)

He seemed to bring a whiff of his strong, fresh, bracing, east-coast air with him as he entered.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A whiff of warm air ascended to his nostrils, and there, curled up under the snow in a snug ball, lay Billee.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Already Alleyne could hear the crackling and roaring of the flames, while the air was heavy with heat and full of the pungent whiff of burning wood.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

After the involuntary shrinking consequent on the first nauseous whiff, we one and all set about our work as though that loathsome place were a garden of roses.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)