Englishئاساسىي لۇغەت
sniff
Universal Words
verb, noun
verb
1 [V] to breathe air in through your nose in a way that makes a sound, especially when you are crying, have a cold, etc:
We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. * She sniffed a little and dabbed at her eyes.
2 ~ (at) (sth) to breathe air in through the nose in order to discover or enjoy the smell of sth:
[VN] sniffing the fresh morning air * to sniff glue * [V] The dog sniffed at my shoes.
seealsoGLUE-SNIFFING
3 to say sth in a complaining or disapproving way:
[Vspeech] 'It's hardly what I'd call elegant,' she sniffed. [also V, VN]
IDIOMS
not to be sniffed at (informal) good enough to be accepted or considered seriously:
In those days, $20 was not a sum to be sniffed at.
PHRASALVERBS
sniff around / round (informal) to try to find out information about sb/sth, especially secret information:
We don't want journalists sniffing around.
sniff around / round sb [nopassive] (especially BrE) to try to get sb as a lover, employee, etc:
Hollywood agents have been sniffing around him.
sniff at sth to show no interest in or respect for sth:
He sniffed at my efforts at writing.
sniff sb/sth<->out
1 to discover or find sb/sth by using your sense of smell:
The dogs are trained to sniff out drugs.
2 (informal) to discover or find sb/sth by looking:
Journalists are good at sniffing out a scandal.
noun
1 [C] an act or the sound of sniffing:
She took a deep sniff of the perfume. * My mother gave a sniff of disapproval. * His sobs soon turned to sniffs.
2 [sing.] ~ of sth an idea of what sth is like or that sth is going to happen:
The sniff of power went to his head. * They make threats but back down at the first sniff of trouble.
3 [sing.] ~ of sth a small chance of sth:
She didn't get even a sniff at a medal.
IDIOMS
have a (good) sniff around to examine a place carefully
