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Sniff vs Staff - What's the difference?

sniff | staff |

As a noun sniff

is an instance of sniffing.

As a verb sniff

is (ambitransitive) to make a short, audible inhalation, through the nose, as if to smell something.

As a proper noun staff is

.

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

    staff

    English

    (wikipedia staff)

    Noun

  • (label) A long, straight stick, especially one used to assist in walking.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1927, author= F. E. Penny
  • , chapter=4, title= Pulling the Strings , passage=The case was that of a murder. It had an element of mystery about it, however, which was puzzling the authorities. A turban and loincloth soaked in blood had been found; also a staff .}}
  • A series of horizontal lines on which musical notes are written.
  • (label) The employees of a business.
  • * {{quote-news, year=2011, date=December 16, author=Denis Campbell, work=Guardian
  • , title= Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients' , passage=Most staff do not have the skills to cope with such challenging patients, who too often receive "impersonal" care and suffer from boredom, the first National Audit of Dementia found. It says hospitals should introduce "dementia champions".}}
  • (label) A mixture of plaster and fibre used as a temporary exterior wall covering.
  • A pole, stick, or wand borne as an ensign of authority; a badge of office.
  • * (William Shakespeare) (1564-1616)
  • Methought this staff , mine office badge in court, / Was broke in twain.
  • *Sir (c.1564-1627)
  • All his officers brake their staves'; but at their return new ' staves were delivered unto them.
  • A pole upon which a flag is supported and displayed.
  • (label) The rung of a ladder.
  • * Dr. J. Campbell (E. Brown's Travels)
  • I ascend at one [ladder] of six hundred and thirty-nine staves .
  • A series of verses so disposed that, when it is concluded, the same order begins again; a stanza; a stave.
  • * (John Dryden) (1631-1700)
  • Cowley found out that no kind of staff is proper for an heroic poem, as being all too lyrical.
  • (label) An arbor, as of a wheel or a pinion of a watch.
  • (label) The grooved director for the gorget, or knife, used in cutting for stone in the bladder.
  • (label) An establishment of officers in various departments attached to an army, to a section of an army, or to the commander of an army. The general's staff consists of those officers about his person who are employed in carrying his commands into execution.
  • Synonyms

    * (music) stave * (employees) personnel * See also

    Derived terms

    *

    See also

    * truncheon * club * cudgel * stick * baton * bludgeon * rod * cane

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • to supply (a business) with employees