whiff /wɪf/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: From the sound of a light movement of air carrying a smell ]
1 . a very slight smell of something
whiff of
a whiff of tobacco
get/catch a whiff of something
As she walked past, I caught a whiff of her perfume.
2 . a whiff of danger/adventure/freedom etc a slight sign that something dangerous, exciting etc might happen:
The whiff of danger filled her with excitement.
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THESAURUS
▪ smell something that you can recognize by breathing in through your nose:
the smell from the kitchen
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What’s that awful smell?
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the sweet smell of roses
▪ whiff something that you smell for a short time:
He caught a whiff of her perfume.
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a whiff of apple blossom
▪ scent a smell – used especially about the pleasant smell from flowers, plants, or fruit. Also used about the smell left by an animal:
The rose had a beautiful scent.
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Cats use their scent to mark their territory.
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the sharp, dying scent of autumn
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the heady scent (=strong scent) of magnolias
▪ fragrance/perfume a pleasant smell, especially from flowers, plants, or fruit. Fragrance and perfume are more formal than scent :
the sweet perfume of the orange blossoms
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Each mango has its own special fragrance.
▪ aroma formal a pleasant smell from food or coffee:
the aroma of fresh coffee
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The kitchen was filled with the aroma of mince pies.
▪ odour British English , odor American English formal an unpleasant smell:
An unpleasant odour was coming from the dustbins.
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the odor of stale tobacco smoke
▪ pong British English informal an unpleasant smell:
What’s that horrible pong?
▪ stink/stench a very strong and unpleasant smell:
I couldn’t get rid of the stink of sweat.
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The toilet gave off a terrible stench.