What does whiffed mean?
Whiffed is the past tense and past participle of the English verb whiff. Its best-known use is in baseball and similar bat-and-ball sports: a batter who whiffed swung at a pitch and missed it. The expression can also describe an unsuccessful attempt more generally, especially one in which the effort falls conspicuously short. In another sense, whiffed means emitted or perceived a slight smell, although constructions such as “caught a whiff of” are more usual in modern English. The word carries an informal, often humorous tone because it pictures a swing moving through empty air. It is especially useful in sports reporting and informal narrative because it captures both the attempt and the failure in a single vivid verb. The form is understood in British and American English, although its sporting use is particularly prominent in American English.
verb (past tense and past participle)Whiffed means swung at or attempted to hit or catch something and missed it. It can also mean gave off or perceived a brief, faint smell.
- Swung at or attempted to hit or catch something and missed it.
- Gave off or perceived a brief, faint smell.
"He whiffed on the final pitch and sent the crowd home disappointed."
"The batter whiffed at two straight pitches before drawing a walk."
"As he opened the cupboard, he whiffed a faint smell of coffee."
In baseball, a whiff is a swing that finds only air—a swing and a miss compressed into one vivid sound.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of whiffed
The parent word whiff is attested in English by the late 16th century, initially in senses connected with a stroke, blow, or attempt. Its deeper origin is uncertain; it has often been treated as an expressive or imitative formation, but no confident cognate or shared source with another modern word can be established. The later sense for a puff of air or an odor developed from the idea of a brief moving breath or wave of air. The past form and participle whiffed follow ordinary English verb inflection.
Related word forms
How whiffed is actually used
The sporting sense is informal and especially common in American baseball writing, though it is also used in British English. The word has a slightly comic or expressive quality because it vividly evokes a swing passing through empty air.