# snuff

> English word · Noun · IPA /snʌf/ · frequency rank #24,003

## Definitions
1. Finely ground or pulverized tobacco (or other plant derivative) intended for use by being sniffed or snorted into the nose.
2. Fine-ground or minced tobacco, dry or moistened, intended for use by placing a pinch behind the lip or beneath the tongue.
3. A snort or sniff of fine-ground, powdered, or pulverized tobacco.
4. The act of briskly inhaling by the nose; a sniff, a snort.
5. Resentment or skepticism expressed by quickly drawing air through the nose; snuffling; sniffling.
6. Snot, mucus.
7. Smell, scent, odour.

## Etymology
Late Middle English, from Middle Dutch snuffen (“to snuff, sniff, snuffle”).
Related to Dutch snuiven (“to sniff”), Middle Low German snûve (“pose, head-cold”), German Schnupfen (“head-cold”). The noun is probably from Dutch snuf (“snuff”), an abbreviation of snuftabak, snuiftabak (“snuff”). Related to sniff (compare Dutch snuffen (“snuff”), German schnupf (“snuff”), French schnouff (“junk”)).

## Easily confused with
- **surf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snuff-vs-surf)
- **snug** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snuff-vs-snug)
- **Sufi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snuff-vs-sufi)
- **stuff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snuff-vs-stuff)
- **staff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snuff-vs-staff)
- **stiff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snuff-vs-stiff)
- **stuffs** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snuff-vs-stuffs)
- **stuffy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snuff-vs-stuffy)
- **snub** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snub-vs-snuff)
- **sniff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sniff-vs-snuff)
- **snuck** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/snuck-vs-snuff)
- **smurf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/smurf-vs-snuff)
- **scoff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scoff-vs-snuff)
- **skiff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/skiff-vs-snuff)
- **scruff** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/scruff-vs-snuff)

## Common misspellings (6)
`nsuff`, `snfuf`, `snnuff`, `snuf`, `ssnuff`, `sunff`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/snuff