How to Use whiff in a Sentence

whiff

1 of 2 noun
  • The pitcher had eight whiffs during the game.
  • I got a whiff of new paint when I entered the room.
  • I detected a whiff of sarcasm in her voice.
  • Schreiber caught a strong whiff of cheap schnapps.
    — Literary Hub, 9 Dec. 2025
  • Just a whiff of this brew was enough to give you a slight buzz.
    — Mike Postalakis, Spin, 5 Sep. 2023
  • There’s not a whiff of effort here.
    — James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2026
  • Imai did not induce any whiffs on the four swings against him.
    — Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Martínez is still that free swinger at heart, but his whiff rate has decreased.
    — Zack Meisel, New York Times, 1 May 2026
  • Farris struck out five, and got 16 whiffs.
    — Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025
  • Primeau was a whiff as a replacement in goal.
    — James Mirtle, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2025
  • There’s not a whiff of onion anywhere on the bottle.
    — Lisa Desantis, Glamour, 18 Nov. 2025
  • But get close and a whiff of its blossoms may send you running.
    — Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2024
  • My first attempt was a total whiff.
    — Blake Crisses, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2026
  • His changeup has one of the league’s highest whiff rates.
    — Zack Meisel, New York Times, 3 June 2026
  • The chase and whiff rates also score highly.
    — Jaylon Thompson may 7, Kansas City Star, 7 May 2026
  • He was jolted out of his reverie by a whiff of guano in the breeze.
    — Ben McGrath, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
  • Decent whiff rate on his slider, good ground ball rate on his sinker.
    — Luke Scotchie, BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2023
  • Just a whiff of a retro recipe can instantly take you back years, even decades.
    — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 14 May 2026
  • That has the whiff of socialism.
    — Jon Wertheim, CBS News, 22 Mar. 2026
  • So yes, there is precedent, and a whiff of hope that things could turn out to be just peachy.
    — Michael Silver, San Francisco Chronicle, 2 Sep. 2022
  • Of course, the nine-year vet still needs 2,411 whiffs to get there.
    — Ryan Ford, Freep.com, 11 Aug. 2025
  • Wacha recorded 52 swings and 11 whiffs in the start.
    — Kansas City Star, 27 June 2026
  • Let your readers get a whiff of the bomb under the table.
    — Jd Barker, Rolling Stone, 25 Sep. 2025
  • The whiffs on ball carriers piled up like junk mail at election time.
    — Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Sep. 2023
  • One whiff, a swirl of zest and rocket fuel, made my eyes water.
    — Clarissa Wei, The New Yorker, 16 June 2023
  • Cameron induced 45 swings and 12 whiffs.
    — Kansas City Star, 23 May 2026
  • That means any whiff of restraint could weigh on equities.
    — Yeo Boon Ping, CNBC, 10 Dec. 2025
  • Cabrera needs whiffs on his breaking balls and changeup to thrive.
    — Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 12 June 2026
  • Last year, Martínez ranked in the 70th percentile in whiff rate.
    — Zack Meisel, New York Times, 1 May 2026
  • On the nose, there are notes of cherry, raisin, grape, vanilla, and a faint whiff of agave.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 1 Nov. 2023

whiff

2 of 2 verb
  • The golfer nearly whiffed the shot.
  • The golfer nearly whiffed on the shot.
  • He whiffed a strong odor of perfume.
  • Son also whiffed on a header around the hour mark.
    — Josh Gross, Daily News, 25 May 2026
  • Some mention of bonus bets that whiffs of free money.
    — Max Klaver, Miami Herald, 10 Apr. 2026
  • Johnson has whiffed on seven of his last eight treys.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2026
  • The Sox whiffed on 15 of 39 swings against him.
    — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Aug. 2025
  • Johnson’s been whiffing on the open stuff in a make-or-miss league.
    — Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 2 Mar. 2026
  • This one took a nose dive into the dirt, and Trout whiffed at it for strike three.
    — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 5 Mar. 2023
  • But the Gophers whiffed on two chances to increase that lead.
    — Pioneer Press, Twin Cities, 27 Nov. 2025
  • What moments hit hardest or whiffed worst for you, Dan?
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 1 Jan. 2026
  • So the Padres are far from the only team whiffing all over the place.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Sep. 2019
  • The Pats have whiffed 10 times total in their last four games.
    — Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 25 Nov. 2025
  • Benson whiffed on a tip-in chance two minutes later.
    — ABC News, 8 May 2026
  • Sánchez whiffed Turner for his first big-league strikeout.
    — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 28 May 2026
  • Also, both of the pollsters cited above have whiffed in past races.
    — Philip Klein, National Review, 10 Jan. 2024
  • Hitters whiffed on 41% of their swings at his slider.
    — Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 15 Feb. 2026
  • This is all very good, but Google whiffed the details on the keyboard deck.
    — Dieter Bohn, The Verge, 27 Nov. 2018
  • Carter Verhaeghe then corralled the puck and whiffed wide on a shot of his own.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 3 Nov. 2025
  • The Rockies whiffed on their chance to turn a good road trip into a great one.
    — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 30 Apr. 2026
  • When the blockers whiffed, the rookie cleaned up their mistakes.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Aug. 2019
  • He’s whiffed in pass protection a couple of times.
    — Parker Gabriel, Denver Post, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Corbin got Muncy to whiff on a tight slider in the dirt to begin the at-bat.
    — Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2021
  • Cody Bellinger whiffed on all of his heavy hacks, striking out swinging three times.
    — Jack Harriswriter, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2019
  • The 2024 club whiffed a team-record 1,607 times.
    — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 28 Sep. 2025
  • The foul caused White, who had scored for England in the first half, to whiff on her shot.
    — Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 2 July 2019
  • Neto then simply whiffed on a bouncer up the middle.
    — Jeff Fletcher, Oc Register, 19 May 2026
  • Castro got Judge to whiff on a slider to sit the Bronx crowd down once again.
    — Jon Meoli, baltimoresun.com, 7 Apr. 2018
  • Bellinger whiffed three times, and his 17 strikeouts were a Series record.
    — USA TODAY, 2 Nov. 2017
  • Canseco, playing for the Rangers, whiffed on the catch, and the ball bounced off the top of his head for a homer.
    — Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 3 June 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whiff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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