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Snort vs Sniff - What's the difference?

snort | sniff |

As nouns the difference between snort and sniff

is that snort is the sound made by exhaling or inhaling roughly through the nose while sniff is an instance of sniffing.

As verbs the difference between snort and sniff

is that snort is to make a snort; to exhale roughly through the nose while sniff is (ambitransitive) to make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as if to smell something.

snort

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • The sound made by exhaling or inhaling roughly through the nose.
  • (slang) A dose of a drug to be snorted. Here, "drug" includes snuff (i.e., pulverized tobacco). A snort also may be a drink of whiskey, as "Let's have a snort".
  • (slang) An alcoholic drink.
  • * 1951 , Indiana Historical Society Publications (volumes 16-17, page 157)
  • Everybody tipped up the jug and took a snort of whisky and followed it with a gourd of cool water. We thought a snort of whisky now and then braced us up some and put a little more lift in us.

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make a snort; to exhale roughly through the nose.
  • She snorted with laughter.
  • (slang) To inhale (usually a drug) through the nose.
  • to snort cocaine
  • (obsolete) To snore.
  • * Shakespeare
  • The snorting citizens.

    sniff

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An instance of sniffing.
  • She gave the flowers a quick sniff to check they were real.
  • A quantity of something that is inhaled through the nose
  • A brief perception
  • * {{quote-news
  • , year=2011 , date=November 3 , author=Chris Bevan , title=Rubin Kazan 1 - 0 Tottenham , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Tottenham did have a sniff of goal when Defoe's drilled cross just eluded his strike partner at the far post but their best effort came early in the second half when Ryan Fredericks cut in from the right before firing into the side netting.}}

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (ambitransitive) To make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as if to smell something.
  • The dog sniffed around the park, searching for a nice scent.
    I sniffed the meat to see if it hadn't gone off.
  • To say something while sniffing, for example in case of illness or unhappiness, or in contempt.
  • "He's never coming back, is he?" she sniffed while looking at a picture of him.
  • To perceive vaguely
  • I can sniff trouble coming from the basement.
  • To be dismissive or contemptuous of something.
  • (computing) To intercept and analyse packets of data being transmitted over a network.
  • (slang, UK) To inhale drugs in powder form (usually cocaine) through the nose.
  • Derived terms

    * sniff test