/ ˈsnʌfl; NAmE / verb , noun
■ verb
1.
to breathe noisily because you have a cold or you are crying
SYN sniff :
[ v ]
I could hear the child snuffling in her sleep.
[also v speech ]
2.
[ v ] snuffle (about / around) if an animal snuffles , it breathes noisily through its nose, especially while it is smelling sth
■ noun
(also less frequent snuf·fling ) an act or the sound of snuffling :
The silence was broken only by the snuffles of the dogs.
His breath came in snuffles.
•
IDIOMS
- get, have, etc. the snuffles
••
WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent.: probably from Low German and Dutch snuffelen ; compare with snuff breathe in noisily and snivel .