waft

[ waft, wahft ]

/ wæft, wɑft /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR waft ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to carry lightly and smoothly through the air or over water: The gentle breeze wafted the sound of music to our ears.

to send or convey lightly, as if in flight: The actress wafted kisses to her admirers in the audience.

Obsolete. to signal to, summon, or direct by waving.

verb (used without object)

to float or be carried, especially through the air: The sound wafted on the breeze. The music wafted across the lake.

noun

a sound, odor, etc., faintly perceived: a waft of perfume.

a wafting movement; light current or gust: a waft of air.

the act of wafting.

Also waif. Nautical. a signal given by waving a flag.

Origin of waft

1535–45; back formation from late Middle English waughter armed escort vessel < Dutch or Low German wachter watchman; in some senses confused with waff

OTHER WORDS FROM waft

waft·er, noun un·waft·ed, adjective

Words nearby waft

waffle cloth, waffle slab, waffle weave, wafflestompers, wafs, waft, waftage, wafter, wafture, wag, wage

Example sentences from the Web for wafting

You walk in, or you talk to people, and you can just feel it wafting around you, warm and comforting.

Can the Cleveland Clinic Save American Health Care? |Megan McArdle |February 26, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
The words seemed to just hang in the air, wafting on bitter irony.

Hurricane Sandy Victim Jacob Vogelman’s Mother Remembers His Life |Michael Daly |November 1, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Enthusiasm is difficult to manufacture when the stink of failure is wafting through the air.

Media Reactions to Newsweek’s Niall Ferguson-Obama Cover Story |Kevin Fallon |August 21, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Does Obama expect Hamid Karzai to surge toward Kandahar in 2011, wafting on doves of peace?

Obama's False Ally |M.J. Akbar |December 5, 2009 |DAILY BEAST

And there are many other ways of getting on among them, while wafting and expanding them into a higher sphere of thought.

Mary Anerley |R. D. Blackmore
He came to the bank of a rushing river, foaming in the moonlight, and wafting on its blue breast the shadow of a thousand stars.

Coningsby |Benjamin Disraeli
From this direction the evening breeze was wafting to his nostrils sweet odors of dew-sprinkled lettuce and tender beet tops.

Billy Whiskers |Frances Trego Montgomery
This lavish provision of silk is designed by nature for the wafting abroad of the seed.

The Wild Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts, and Habits |Mary Elizabeth Parsons
She felt that the two districts below her were quivering, wafting her the hope of approaching triumph.

The Fortune of the Rougons |Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for wafting

waft

/ (wɑːft, wɒft) /

verb

to carry or be carried gently on or as if on the air or water

noun

the act or an instance of wafting

something, such as a scent, carried on the air

a wafting motion

Also called: waif nautical (formerly) a signal flag hoisted furled to signify various messages depending on where it was flown

Derived forms of waft

waftage, noun

Word Origin for waft

C16 (in obsolete sense: to convey by ship): back formation from C15 wafter a convoy vessel, from Middle Dutch wachter guard, from wachten to guard; influenced by waff

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

waft

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Origin of waft

OTHER WORDS FROM waft

Words nearby waft

Example sentences from the Web for wafting

British Dictionary definitions for wafting

verb

noun

Derived forms of waft

Word Origin for waft

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

waft

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

noun

Origin of waft

OTHER WORDS FROM waft

Words nearby waft

Words related to wafting

Example sentences from the Web for wafting

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for wafting

verb

noun

Derived forms of waft

Word Origin for waft

British Dictionary definitions for wafting