/ snʌf; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb [ vn ]
1.
snuff sth (out) to stop a small flame from burning, especially by pressing it between your fingers or covering it with sth
SYN extinguish
2.
( of an animal ) to smell sth by breathing in noisily through the nose :
[ v ]
The dogs were snuffing gently at my feet.
[also vn ]
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IDIOMS
- snuff it
•
PHRASAL VERBS
- snuff sth out
■ noun
[ U ] tobacco in the form of a powder that people take by breathing it into their noses
•
IDIOMS
- up to snuff
••
WORD ORIGIN
verb sense 1 and idsym. pvsym. late Middle English : of unknown origin.
noun and verb sense 2 late Middle English (as a verb): from Middle Dutch snuffen to snuffle. The noun dates from the late 17th cent. and is probably an abbreviation of Dutch snuftabak .