whiff

The definition of a whiff is a slight odor, or a puff of something.

(noun)

When you catch a brief hint of the odor of coffee in the morning from the coffee shop downstairs, this is an example of when you catch a whiff of coffee.
If you sneak out to meet your boyfriend and feel like you are taking a big risk, this is an example of when there is a whiff of danger.

Whiff is defined as to blow smoke in puffs.

(verb)

When you blow smoke in front of someone while smoking, this is an example of when you whiff.

See whiff in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a light puff or gust of air or wind; breath
a slight wave or gust of odor; faint momentary smell: a whiff of garlic
an inhaling or exhaling, as of tobacco smoke
☆ Informal a complete miss when attempting to hit something, as a golf ball, with a swinging motion

Origin: echoic

transitive verb

to blow or propel (tobacco smoke, etc.) with a puff or gust; waft

intransitive verb

to blow or move in puffs, as in smoking
☆
1. Informal to miss completely when attempting to hit something, as a golf ball, with a swinging motion
2. Slang to strike out in baseball

Related Forms:

See whiff in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A slight, gentle gust of air; a waft: a whiff of cool air.
a. A brief, passing odor carried in the air: a whiff of perfume.
b. A minute trace: “Humanity is unregenerable and hates the language of conformity, since conformity has a whiff of the inhuman about it” (Anthony Burgess).
An inhalation, as of air or smoke: Take a whiff of this pipe.
Baseball A strikeout.