sniff
verb uk/snɪf/ us/snɪf/
C2 [ I or T ]嗅，闻
to smell something by taking air in through your nose
He sniffed his socks to see if they needed washing. 他嗅了嗅自己的袜子，看是否需要洗了。
Dogs love sniffing each other. 狗喜欢相互嗅闻。
She sniffed at her glass of wine before tasting it. 品尝那杯酒之前，她先闻了闻。
Dogs are sometimes used at airports to sniff out (= find by smelling) drugs in people's luggage. 有时候，狗被用来在机场嗅查人们的行李中是否有毒品。
He was expelled from school for sniffing glue (= taking in the gas from glue because of the feelings of pleasure that this gives). 他因吸食胶毒而被学校开除。
C2 [ I ]抽鼻子
to take air in quickly through your nose, usually to stop the liquid inside the nose from flowing out
You're sniffing a lot - do you have a cold? 你不停地抽鼻子——你感冒了吗？
[ T ]嗤之以鼻地说，轻蔑地说
to speak in an unpleasant way, showing that you have a low opinion of something
[ + speech ] "They didn't even serve wine at dinner!" she sniffed. “他们在正餐时间竟然没有供应酒水！”她轻蔑地说。
- More examples
- He sniffed the flowers.
- The dog sniffed around his feet.
- She sniffed the forkful and put it back on her plate.
- As she turned away I saw him sniff furtively under his arm.
- Could you blow your nose instead of sniffing?
Phrasal verbs
sniff at something 蔑视，轻视，对…不屑
to show disapproval or a low opinion of something
Art experts sniffed at his work. 艺术鉴赏家们对他的作品嗤之以鼻。
(also sniff around (something))对…表现出兴趣，对…感兴趣
to show that you are interested in something
A few computer firms are sniffing at the project already. 已经有几家计算机公司对这一项目表现出了兴趣。
Chief executive David Prosser said the takeover speculation was wrong and no one was sniffing around. 首席执行官戴维‧普罗瑟认为该收购设想行不通，没有人对此感兴趣。
sniff something/someone out 闻出，嗅出
to discover where something or someone is by smelling
At customs, dogs are used to sniff out drugs in passengers' luggage. 在海关，狗被用来嗅查乘客行李中的毒品。
sniff something out 发现；搜寻出
to search for and discover something
Her job is to go round the big fashion shows sniffing out talent for a modelling agency. 她的工作就是观看大型时装展示会，为模特经纪公司发现人才。
sniff
noun [ C ] uk/snɪf/ us/snɪf/
吸气;闻;抽鼻子
a quick breath in through the nose to smell something, or to stop liquid in the nose from coming out
Take a sniff of this medicine - it smells horrible, doesn't it? 闻闻这种药——有一股让人作呕的味儿，对吗？
"I don't think much of that idea," she said with a sniff (= an expression of a low opinion). “我觉得这主意不怎么样。”她吸了吸鼻子轻蔑地说。