WHIFF

[noun] [C usually singular] - a brief smell, carried on a current of airI caught/got a whiff of perfume as she swept past me.During the first few months of pregnancy the slightest whiff of food cooking made my stomach turn.He leaned towards me and I caught a whiff of garlic on his breath.(figurative) There's a whiff of revolution in the air once again, the distant threat of civil disobedience.(figurative) A strong whiff of corruption hangs over the government.