snuff

Word family

snuff1 /snʌf/ verb

1. (also snuff out) [transitiveT]STOP something THAT IS HAPPENING to stop a candle burning by pressing the burning part with your fingers or by covering it 掐灭，闷熄〔蜡烛〕

2. snuff it British EnglishBrE informalDIE to die 断气，死

Examples from the Corpus

snuff it• Also drowning himself or any other method of snuffing it.• If only the old man had snuffed it of natural causes, as he had seemed on the point of doing!

3. [intransitiveI, transitiveT]BREATHESMELL if an animal snuffs, it breathes air into its nose in a noisy way, especially in order to smell something 〔动物〕大声地嗅，闻〔味〕 SYN sniff

4 snuff something/somebody ↔ out phrasal verbphr v

a) STOP something THAT IS HAPPENINGto stop a candle burning by pressing the burning part with your fingers or by covering it 掐灭，闷熄〔蜡烛〕

b) STOP something THAT IS HAPPENINGto stop or end something in a sudden way 〔突然地〕消灭，扼杀

a rebellion that will snuff out democracy

将会扼杀民主的一场叛乱

c) informalDIE to kill someone 杀死〔某人〕

a young woman snuffed out by an unknown killer

被身份不明的凶手杀死的年轻女子

Examples from the Corpus

snuff out• Outside the cold wind snuffed the taper out.

Examples from the Corpus

snuff• Any hopes of a comeback by the Raiders were snuffed at the start of the second half.• But he was constantly snuffed out by City's engine-room battlers.• What was it all about when some one like Mac could be snuffed out, just like that?• Thompson took a fine ball from Pugh after 12 minutes and again raced clear but Swansea's defence snuffed out the danger.• How could anyone be so evil that they could snuff out the life of a young girl?• The breath was knocked out of him, the spell scattered and snuffed out.• Still, it took another gem, by third baseman Ken Caminiti, to snuff that threat.• The Cowboys had tried to snuff them.

Related topics: Tobacco

snuff2 noun [uncountableU]

1 DFTa type of tobacco in powder form, which people breathe in through their noses 鼻烟

He took a pinch of snuff.

他吸了一撮鼻烟。

a snuff box (=a small box used to keep snuff in)

鼻烟盒

2 up to snuff American EnglishAmE informal good enough for a particular purpose 状况良好，达到要求

A lot of money was spent to bring the building up to snuff.

为改善这幢楼的状况花了很多钱。

Examples from the Corpus

up to snuff• It is the kind of work that museums do to conserve their furniture collections and bring their acquisitions up to snuff.• Semiconductor, software and computer companies slumped in price because of concern that earnings may not be up to snuff.• A few of these devices should be exploded every year to test whether the refurbishing is working up to snuff.

Examples from the Corpus

snuff• They never said anything about snuff, silverweed and horse-racing.• She'd taxed him with trading them for snuff, which was his passion, and he'd not denied it.• The probably truth is that, like snuff, he regularly got up aristocratic noses.• But she dipped her thumb and forefinger into the bag and took out a pinch of snuff.• She took a pinch of snuff in her hand and sprinkled it over the note murmuring something under her breath.• One of the mills still produces snuff.• I jumped up in fright and in the process knocked the snuff out of her hand.

snuff box• In his hands he holds a snuff box, shaped like a small quiver, and a thin stick.• Its use in the past included the manufacture of spoons and snuff boxes.• Many of Birmingham's population of artisans were occupied in producing trays and caddies, as well as snuff boxes for Virginia tobacco.

Origin snuff1

1. (1300-1400) snuff “burned part of a used candle” ((14-19 centuries)).

2. (1500-1600) Dutch snuffen “to sniff”

snuff2

(1600-1700) Dutch snuf, from snuftabak, from snuffen ( → SNUFF1) + tabak “tobacco”

snuff1 verbsnuff2 noun

Chinese

Corpus