How to Use sniff in a Sentence

sniff

1 of 2 verb

• The dog sniffed the carpet.
• He held the flower up to his nose and sniffed.
• She sniffed and wiped her nose with a tissue.
• She put perfume on her wrist and sniffed it.
• The dogs — Zarah, 9, and Ava, 4 — are trained to sniff out explosives.
  — Courtney Tanner, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Nov. 2022
• That’s why Michael is able to sniff out screens and bat down passes.
  — Ben Thomas | [e-mail], al, 1 Aug. 2022
• The best way to test whether an egg is still good is to crack it into a bowl and sniff it.
  — Stephanie Brown, Verywell Health, 3 Mar. 2023
• When your dog sniffs them out, pop the plastic eggs open for him and reward him with the treat.
  — Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 6 Feb. 2024
• The reindeer raised his head to sniff the air, shook his head quickly, and stomped a foot.
  — Greg Borowski, jsonline.com, 15 Dec. 2022
• When Que sniffs the tube, Bontrager gives him a treat. Sniff.
  — The Indianapolis Star, 22 June 2023
• The kitchen god circled the garbage can, sniffing its contents.
  — Hiromi Kawakami, The New Yorker, 3 July 2023
• This is a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 12 years, let alone sniff the Super Bowl.
  — Ben Volin, BostonGlobe.com, 20 July 2023
• On third-and-1, the Browns ran play action to Elijah Moore that the Steelers sniffed out.
  — Dan Labbe, cleveland, 19 Sep. 2023
• Then the guys had to French kiss their own fists before Rachel took a whiff of their armpits to sniff out any pheromones.
  — Dana Rose Falcone, PEOPLE.com, 1 Aug. 2022
• Arnold says that the changes in a person’s body odor are likely what seizure-alert dogs sniff out.
  — IEEE Spectrum, 7 July 2023
• Aardvarks are known for their long, pig-like snout that is used to sniff out insects.
  — Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 28 June 2022
• Felix the dog helps sniff out the best ones at Boston Hill Farm's self-pick pumpkin patch.
  — Linda Greenstein, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Oct. 2022
• Not only is the duck fat pure culinary gold, the carcass is nothing to sniff at.
  — Hana Asbrink, Bon Appétit, 8 Nov. 2022
• Adults can learn this at home, of course, by opening that milk carton and daring to sniff deeply.
  — Yasmin Tayag, The Atlantic, 30 Nov. 2022
• Hoke said what is bothersome is when the players take their eyes off a key to sniffing out the play.
  — Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Sep. 2023
• Another defender sniffed out the play from the weak side.
  — Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 Nov. 2023
• For now, mother bears are teaching cubs to sniff for food to take from humans.
  — Johnny Casey, USA TODAY, 12 May 2023
• With nearly 10 lined up before us, David and I sniff and read labels and taste.
  — Tamar Adler, Vogue, 18 Aug. 2022
• Choose your metaphor: A door opens, a page turns, a window rolls down and a new dog’s sweet nose will sniff the fresh air of freedom.
  — Mariashines, cleveland, 24 July 2023
• But there are no cops sniffing around here, just men willing and ready to bend the law to their own advantage.
  — Peter Debruge, Variety, 11 June 2023
• Don’t let dogs sniff around these grasses; keep grass short and maintained, and look out for dry and long grasses on walks.
  — Washington Post, 4 May 2022
• The Orioles sniffed a bit of success last year having been in the playoff hunt until the final days.
  — Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 17 Sep. 2023
• That’s nothing to sniff at, and that’s hard for someone like me who is always up against the major labels.
  — Chris Willman, Variety, 15 Aug. 2022
• Auburn didn’t sniff the red zone again until the game’s closing moments and trailing 41-12.
  — Tom Green | [e-mail], al, 17 Sep. 2022
• Whoopi Goldberg and her comedian pals know how to sniff out a good laugh.
  — Benjamin Vanhoose, Peoplemag, 8 Aug. 2022

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sniff

2 of 2 noun

• There was still a sniff of hope left for the team.
• He wanted to avoid the slightest sniff of a scandal.
• She said that she felt fine, but her sniffs and coughs told a different story.
• Take a look and a feel and a sniff under the floor mats.
  — Josh Max, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2021
• The walnuts, on the other hand, didn’t pass the sniff test.
  — Rick Barrett, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2 Oct. 2017
• Here's a trick: Sniff your shirt sleeve on the fourth sniff, then go back to the glass.
  — cleveland, 18 Feb. 2020
• The man takes a drink (or a sniff), then the drink takes a drink, until the drink takes the man.
  — David Von Drehle, Twin Cities, 8 Oct. 2019
• Remember the scratch-and-sniff stickers that were all the rage in the ‘80s and ‘90s?
  — Natasha Bach, Fortune, 22 May 2018
• The result — a broad smile, from first sniff to last sip.
  — Washington Post, 27 Jan. 2022
• Jim Plunkett got two rings with the Raiders and doesn’t get a sniff.
  — Nick Canepa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Oct. 2019
• When in doubt, ask someone close to you for a sniff test.
  — Karla L. Miller, Washington Post, 12 July 2019
• Intrigued, the others flocked to my desk to give me a sniff.
  — Jacqueline Kilikita, refinery29.com, 26 July 2022
• If the color and feel are to your liking, give the base of the pineapple a sniff.
  — Alex Delany, Bon Appetit, 19 Feb. 2018
• Cut stem end off 1 chili and give the cut end a careful sniff.
  — J. J. Goode, The New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2022
• Peek under the mats, give a good sniff and put your palm down on the bare floor.
  — Josh Max, Forbes, 30 Sep. 2021
• After each sniff, the dog looked back up at the handler.
  — Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 24 Apr. 2023
• The first sniff fills the nose with scents of bergamot orange, fresh-baked bread and a touch of earth.
  — Michael Alberty | For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 22 Dec. 2020
• Also, the more fragrant the fruit, the more flavorful the zest, so give it a sniff.
  — Darlene Zimmerman, Detroit Free Press, 20 Jan. 2018
• Before biting in, break a piece off and give it a sniff.
  — Melissa Clark, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2020
• And yet, year after year, Mullen couldn't get much of a sniff on the coaching carousel.
  — Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, 8 Nov. 2021
• The first sniff produces scents of fresh-baked bread, loam, chalk, rhubarb pie and apples.
  — Michael Alberty | For The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive, 9 Oct. 2021
• The Senators, by the way, lost Game 7 of the Cup semis that spring and haven’t had a sniff of the postseason since.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 7 Apr. 2021
• One of those daughters sneaks a sniff of Bean’s hard cider instead of a swig.
  — The Politics Of Everything, The New Republic, 15 Mar. 2023
• Some walk by, while others pause to take a sniff or use the nearby tree for a back rub.
  — Casey Smith, National Geographic, 7 July 2017
• Better to give either or both the stem and blossom end a good sniff.
  — Bill St. John, The Denver Post, 2 July 2019
• Their dogs jostled in the backseat for a welcome sniff.
  — Claire Stremple, Anchorage Daily News, 12 Mar. 2021
• UMass never let the Huskies off the leash, never gave them as much as a sniff at a comeback.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 10 Apr. 2021
• Karate was a staple for the four oldest, though Rashida gave it a brief sniff.
  — BostonGlobe.com, 11 June 2021
• This checks out per a recent sniff test with my 20-year-old babysitter.
  — Fiorella Valdesolo, Vogue, 11 Feb. 2022
• Point the spray away from the bony part of your nose, the septum, and take a small sniff rather than a big sniff so the medicine stays in the nose rather than dripping out.
  — Shari Rudavsky, The Indianapolis Star, 30 May 2023

Last Updated: 7 May 2024