Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use waft in a sentence

32 example sentences · verb, noun

Waft means to (cause to) float easily or gently through the air. Example: “A breeze came in through the open window and wafted her sensuous perfume into my eager nostrils.”

Examples of waft by meaning

verbTo (cause to) float easily or gently through the air.

  • A breeze came in through the open window and wafted her sensuous perfume into my eager nostrils.
  • There the moist breath of the western wind wafted her over the waves of the loud-moaning sea in soft foam, and there the gold-filleted Hours welcomed her joyously.1914, Hesiod, “To Aphrodite”, in Hugh G. Evelyn-White, transl., The Homeric Hymns and Homerica (Loeb Classical Library; 57), Cambridge...
  • The enticing, homey scent of apple pie wafted into the hallway as she beckoned them into her lair.2011 April 12, Beth Kendrick, chapter 29, in The Bake-Off, New York, N.Y.: New American Library, →ISBN

verbTo be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float.

  • Ave. wafting in from behind brick buildings and iron gates.2005 June 9, Michael M. Grynbaum, “An Entryway That Eats Together Stays Together”, in The Harvard Crimson, archived from the original on 25...

nounA light breeze.

  • It lay before him white and ghaistly, with mist blowing in wafts across it and a slow swaying of the tides.1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide

nounSomething (such as an odor or perfume) that is carried through the air.

  • Meanwhile, the wafts from his old home pleaded, whispered, conjured, and finally claimed him imperiously.1908, Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows, London: Methuen, →ISBN

More sentences with waft

  • The loud rinky-dink music and the wafting blue cigar smoke made the scene a dime novel cover.2013, Conn Hamlett, John Lee Johnson and the Gunslingers, →ISBN, page 13. From the entry rinky-dink
  • A damp, auberginey waft escaped from the pot when Rosie lifted the lid.2012, Chris Smyth, Dinner at Mine. From the entry auberginey
  • The accursed odor of fresh baking wafts into your newfound nostrils.2009 April 18, Andrew Hussie, Homestuck, archived from the original on 17 Oct 2021. From the entry connivings
  • The turfy-chocolaty nosegay of raw opium wafts from hundreds of milk cans.2007 September 11, Donald G[erald] McNeil, Jr., “In India, a quest to ease the pain of the dying”, in The New York Times, archived from…. From the entry nosegay
  • The savory aroma of ham and eggs in Jubilee's special sauce wafted toward him.2006, Lila Guzmán, Rick Guzmán, Lorenzo and the Turncoat, Arte Publico Press, page 159. From the entry diego
  • His breath feathered her lips; her spine, her legs weakened, went soft at the wafting warmth.2001, Joan Hohl, Maybe Tomorrow, Zebra Books, →ISBN, page 186. From the entry feather
  • The delicate vanillalike aroma that gave the bush its name wafted around her.2000 February, Karen Robards, Ghost Moon, Dell Publishing, →ISBN, page 94. From the entry vanillalike
  • As the smell of toasting Borodinski bread wafts through the apartment, Bill goes through other frozen foods—all Costco, stuffed this-and-that.2018, Paul Goldberg, “ISIS”, in The Château, New York, N.Y.: Picador, →ISBN, page 212. From the entry no, thank you
  • Patting the older woman’s back, Beth inhaled the meatloafy air mixed with cinnamon potpourri that wafted from the house.2016, Krista Phillips, chapter 10, in A Side of Love, Spring Hill, Tenn.: One Woman’s Dream, →ISBN, page 74. From the entry meatloafy
  • The odours of a saltpan in full production wafted into the hazy air and coiled away like cottonseed across the pond.2012, Jessica Stirling, Shadows On The Shore, →ISBN. From the entry panhouse
  • A shiver of cool air wafted over her and passed; and she remembered her debt, and why she had come out.2011, Tim Bowler, River Boy. From the entry unsleeping
  • There was plenty of scunge left, however; in the back streets the smell of dope wafted from the houses.2006, Kate Holden, In My Skin: A Memoir of Addiction, page 130. From the entry scunge
  • A crisp fresh odour of starch wafted from the cardboard-stiff jacket which covered a well-built, Sunday athlete's frame.1968, Dorothy Uhnak, chapter 8, in The Bait, London: Mysterious Press in association with Arrow Books, published 1988, →ISBN, page 101. From the entry crisp
  • Again the blooper wafted up to the plate.1949, Jimmy Powers, Baseball Personalities: The Most Colorful Figures of All Time, New York, N.Y.: R. Field, →OCLC, page 254. From the entry blooper
  • Dukhi leaned back to allow it free passage, wondering what penalty might adhere to the offence of interfering with the waft of brahminical flatus.1995, Rohinton Mistry, chapter 3, in A Fine Balance, London: Faber & Faber, published 1997, page 113. From the entry brahminical
  • Assistant Van admired her elegant slenderness, the gray tailor-made suit, the smoky fichu and as it wafted away, her long white neck.1969, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 5, in Ada, or, Ardor: A Family Chronicle, Harmondsworth, Middlesex [London]: Penguin Books, published…. From the entry fichu
  • The fresh smell of the sea, wafted by a stiff breeze off the ice-caps, was now displaced by the stench of rotting cod-livers.1934, Thelma Roberts, Red Hell: The Life Story of John Goode, Criminal, New York, N.Y.: Rae D. Henkle. From the entry cod-liver
  • Across this scene wafted the pungent fragrance of chop suey, dim sims and other delicacies in course of preparation for the funeral feast.1926 December 16, The Telegraph, Brisbane, page 20, column 7. From the entry chop suey
  • As we approached this Mancunian landmark, a distinctive toasty, cornflakey smell would waft into the car, a comforting sign that we weren’t too far from our destination.2017, David White with Joanne Lake, Shades of Blue: The Life of a Manchester City Legend and the Story that Shook Football, London…. From the entry cornflakey
  • The table is spread with a feast fit for royalty, with lamajoun, kofte ghemali, souberek, tabouleh, humous and chi kofte; the dishes wafting cumin, garlic, and lemon juice.2016, Eve Makis, The Spice Box Letters, Macmillan, →ISBN. From the entry chi kofte
  • She's sitting opposite a window that's gently breezing into her face, wafting her hair into cover-girl perfection and when I joke about this she roars with laughter.2014 January 21, Hermione Hoby, “Julia Roberts interview for August: Osage County – 'I might actually go to hell for this...' [print…. From the entry cover girl
  • Nature is at her most harmonious beauty with the colorful splash of fall foliages of yellows, reds, browns and greens it is accompanied by a slight wafting breeze.2010, Edward Anthony Gibbsons, American Corruption: A Story of Boston Corruption Under J. Edgar Hoover's FBI, →ISBN. From the entry fall foliage
  • As the intoxicating aroma of hot bread wafted around her, and it was all she could do to keep herself from diving in and making a pig of herself.2002, Jeff Hoy, Martian Romance, iUniverse, published 2002, →ISBN, page 156. From the entry make a pig of oneself
  • Shouldn't worry me, I thought, but sure enough, 20 seconds later the smell of wafting cigarette smoke drifts over the back of my seat and up my hooter.1995, Paul Vautin, Turn It Up!, Sydney: Pan Macmillan Australia, page 36. From the entry hooter
  • M., “Phil ‘n’ Irene,” one delicious day months ago when we looked over the fence and were assaulted by miasmic wafts of smoke and a happy holler from Mr.1991, Douglas Coupland, “Celebrities Die”, in Generation X, New York: St. Martin's Press, →OCLC, page 111. From the entry miasmic
  • As Gerald was aware, a spot of bother, a revival of the divorce fixation, had wafted Lydia temporarily on a visit to an aunt in Westmorland.1933 March, Marguerite Steen, “Strange Guest”, in Geo[rge] Newnes, editor, The Strand Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly, volume LXXXV…. From the entry spot of bother

Meaning of waft

  1. verb To (cause to) float easily or gently through the air.
  2. verb To be moved, or to pass, on a buoyant medium; to float.
  3. verb To give notice to by waving something; to wave the hand to; to beckon.

Full definition of waft

Questions about waft in a sentence

How do you use waft in a sentence?
Waft is used as a verb and noun. For example: “A breeze came in through the open window and wafted her sensuous perfume into my eager nostrils.”
What is a short sentence with waft?
“Again the blooper wafted up to the plate.”
What does waft mean?
Waft means to (cause to) float easily or gently through the air.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: waft (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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