🇩🇪German Source WordCode: DE

herumschnüffeln

Pronunciation / Transliteration: heh-room-shnoo-feln

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Sniff-Around/snɪf əˈraʊnd/
verbCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #1500 frequency
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🇩🇪 Example Sentence in German:

"Er beschloss, im Markt herumzuschnüffeln, um gute Angebote zu finden."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As verb
  1. 1

    To search or explore a place or situation in a casual or informal manner.

    "He decided to sniff-around the market to see if there were any good deals."
  2. 2

    To investigate or inquire about something in a subtle or indirect way.

    "She was sniffing-around for information about the new project."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term 'sniff-around' combines 'sniff', which comes from Middle English 'sniffen', meaning to inhale through the nose, and 'around', which has Old English roots meaning 'in a circular direction'. The phrase evolved to imply searching or investigating in a casual or exploratory manner.

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