whiffs

Noun

whiff (plural whiffs)

1. A brief, gentle breeze; a light gust of air; a waft.
   • Purrus at Pryam driues, but all in rage, / Strikes vvide, but vvith the vvhiffe and vvinde / Of his fell ſvvord, th'unnerued father falles.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shake-speare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (First Quarto), London: […] [Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and Iohn Trundell...

   Synonyms:

   puff

2. A short inhalation or exhalation of breath, especially when accompanied by smoke from a cigarette or pipe.
   • Sog[liardo]. […] [D]oe you profeſſe theſe ſleights in Tabacco? / […] / Shift. Yes as ſoone ſir; he ſhall receiue the 1, 2, and 3 VVhiffe, if it pleaſe him, & (vpon the receit) take his horſe, drinke his three cups of Canarie, and expoſe one at Hounſlovv, a ſecond at Stanes, and a third at Bagſhot.1599 (first performance), B. I. [i.e., Ben Jonson], The Comicall Satyre of Euery Man out of His Humor. […], London: […] [Adam Islip] for William Holme, […], published 1600, →OCLC, Act III, scene i...
   1. (archaic, broadly) A cigarette or small cigar.
3. An odour (usually unpleasant) carried briefly through the air.
   • And then, ſo nice, and ſo genteel; / Such Cleanlineſs from Head to Heel: / No Humours groſs, or frowzy Steams, / No noiſom Whiffs, or ſweaty Streams, / Before, behind, above, below, / Could from her taintleſs Body flow.1731, [Jonathan Swift], “Strephon and Chloe”, in A Beautiful Young Nymph Going to Bed. […], Dublin; London: […] [William Bowyer] for J. Roberts […], published 1734, →OCLC, page 8

   Synonyms:

   sniff

4. A small quantity of cloud, smoke, vapour, etc.; specifically (obsolete), chiefly in take the whiff: a puff of tobacco smoke.
   • Shift. […] His cheef exerciſes are taking the VVhiffe, ſquiring a Cocatrice, and making priuie ſearches for Imparters.1599 (first performance), B. I. [i.e., Ben Jonson], “The Names of the Actors”, in The Comicall Satyre of Euery Man out of His Humor. […], London: […] [Adam Islip] for William Holme, […], published...

   Synonyms:

   puff

5. A flag used as a signal.
   • When the Indiaman was within a mile, the stranger threw out neutral colours, and hoisted a whiff, half-mast down, as a signal that she was in distress.1832, [Frederick Marryat], chapter XI, in Newton Forster; or, The Merchant Service. […], volume III, London: James Cochrane and Co., […], →OCLC, page 178

   Synonyms:

   waff, waif, wheft

See all 34 meanings of whiff