Verb The smell of chicken soup wafted up to my bedroom. The sound of music wafted softly into the yard from our neighbor's house. A breeze wafted the scent of roses towards our table. Noun wafts carrying the scent of spring flowers

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Phosphorus-containing minerals, one possible raw ingredient for phosphine, aren’t likely to waft up to high altitude from the planet’s surface. Sid Perkins, Science | AAAS, "‘Curious and unexplained.’ Gas spotted in Venus’s atmosphere is also spewed by microbes on Earth," 14 Sep. 2020

Investigators found that some apartments had drains with empty U-traps, which allowed bioaerosols from a sick patient to waft through the building’s pipes and into the air of other apartments. Joseph G. Allen, Anchorage Daily News, "It’s time to talk about how toilets may be spreading covid-19," 3 Sep. 2020

Much like the smell of cheese might waft through a maze to entice a rat to find the finish line, the amoebas solve their maze by following a chemical signal. Theresa Machemer, Smithsonian Magazine, "A Mini Version of Britain’s Royal Hedge Maze Is No Match for Amoebas," 1 Sep. 2020

The bright green and yellow streams of smoke that linger and waft through the air. Caitlin Murray, oregonlive, "Portland Timbers resume regular season with lopsided loss to rival Seattle Sounders," 24 Aug. 2020

But any respite is likely to be brief: air quality generally worsens during the daytime, and wildfire smoke will continue to waft over the region. Kate Galbraith, SFChronicle.com, "Bay Area smoke forecast remains grim even as air quality improves slightly overnight," 20 Aug. 2020

People will dance on your terraces and perfumes will waft from your kitchens. Billboard Staff, Billboard, "Mika Shares Letter to the Lebanese People 'Devastated by the Apocalypse'," 8 Aug. 2020

To get ready to impress the lady lemurs, males wipe smelly chemicals secreted from glands on their wrists all over their fluffy tails, and then waft their perfumed appendages in the direction of potential mates. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, "For Male Lemurs, Love Stinks—and Scientists Now Know Why," 20 Apr. 2020

Converging lines of evidence indicate that SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, can pass from person to person in tiny droplets called aerosols that waft through the air and accumulate over time. Dyani Lewis, Scientific American, "Mounting Evidence Suggests Coronavirus is Airborne—but Health Advice Has Not Caught Up," 8 July 2020

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Lynn departed in a sand-and-beige waft of giggles and goodbyes to half the tearoom without even a nod to me. Barbara Amiel, Town & Country, "Lady Black's Revenge: An Explosive New Memoir Reveals the Fallout of a High Society Scandal," 20 Sep. 2020

Tailgating was banned, so no waft of sizzling brats, steaks and dogs. Teddy Greenstein, chicagotribune.com, "Column: No grills and plenty of empty parking spots for Notre Dame’s 1st football Saturday of 2020. ‘Definitely a ghost town.’," 12 Sep. 2020

Creatures from across the animal kingdom are highly attuned to the distinctive waft of geosmin, including flies, camels and people. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, "How Rain Evolved Its Distinct Scent—and Why Animals and Humans Love It," 17 Apr. 2020

As communion was received, the waft of burning incense filled the air, palpable even through the face masks worn to protect from the ongoing threat of the coronavirus. Savannah Eadens, The Courier-Journal, "Shooting victim Tyler Gerth died fighting injustice and inequality, family says at funeral," 3 July 2020

Grey clouds waft over scattering crowds in the footage from Seattle this past Sunday. Popular Science, "Tear gas during COVID-19 is a public health disaster," 8 June 2020

Aside from wafts of eau de clutch, the technique resulted in no negative side effects. Tony Quiroga, Car and Driver, "Tested: 2019 Porsche Speedster Makes a Case for Less Is More," 27 Mar. 2020

The smoke displays that get set off waft slowly across the field like the pyrotechnic haze that follows the halftime show at the Super Bowl. BostonGlobe.com, "Behind the scenes with the Revolution on a road trip to Soccer City, USA - The Boston Globe," 15 Oct. 2019

Hundreds of plastic objects, from a toy soldier to a woman’s hair curler to the remnants of a sand shovel waft gently in a breeze from heating vents. Mary Carole Mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "Is climate change art? 5 must-see pieces at the new AVAM exhibit," 14 Oct. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'waft.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.