sniff out
verb1
To find (something) by using the sense of smell.
- Because they have far more powerful noses than humans, dogs are ideal to sniff out drugs.
2
Broadly, Figuratively To detect (something hidden or invisible).
- Near-synonyms: ferret out, weasel out
- Luisa Rey plays the ditzy reporter on her best behavior to assure Fay Li she poses no threat. Only then might she be given a free enough rein to sniff out Sixsmith’s fellow dissidents.2004, David Mitchell, “Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery”, in Cloud Atlas, →ISBN, page 130:
- Related terms
- scent hound, suss out